Towards a novel computer-aided optimization of microreactors: Techno-economic evaluation of an immobilized enzyme system

Immobilized multi-enzyme cascades are increasingly used in microfluidic devices. In particular, their application in continuous flow reactors shows great potential, utilizing the benefits of reusability and control of the reaction conditions. However, capitalizing on this potential is challenging and requires detailed knowledge of the investigated system. Here, we show the application of computational methods for optimization with multi-level reactor design (MLRD) methodology based on the underlying physical and chemical processes. We optimize a stereoselective reduction of a diketone catalyzed by ketoreductase (Gre2) and Nicotinamidadenindinukleotidphosphat (NADPH) cofactor regeneration with glucose dehydrogenase (GDH). Both enzymes are separately immobilized on magnetic beads forming a packed bed within the microreactor. We derive optimal reactor feed concentrations and enzyme ratios for enhanced performance and a basic economic model in order to maximize the techno-economic performance (TEP) for the first reduction of 5-nitrononane-2,8-dione.