(image: Korea Bizwire)
DAEJEON, Jan. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea has developed a new technology that produces amines, chemical substances used in various industries, using biotechnology instead of petrochemical processing.
A research team from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced Monday a new technology that creates strains of Escherichai colis, which can produce 10 variations of primary amines.
It is a result of a successful metabolic engineering, a new means of production that has been replacing petrochemical processing.
Never before has metabolic engineering been used to produce primary amines, used as precursors to a variety of pharmaceuticals and pesticides.
The research team explained that metabolic pathways to create a biosynthesis leading to the production of primary amines had previously been unknown.
The team was able to discover a potential pathway through reverse simulation of the biosynthesis.
“We were actually able to raise the amount of primary amine production by applying this new technology to a biomass,” said Lee Sang-yup, a distinguished professor at KAIST who led the research team.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
