Custos de produção heteróloga da enzima catalase de Serratia marcescens em escala de bancada

Abstract

Enzymes play a fundamental role in metabolic and biochemical reactions, being derived from plant, animal and microbial sources. Specifically, microbial enzymes stand out in vital industrial sectors such as textiles, food and pharmaceuticals, anticipating significant growth in the global enzyme market, with a revenue projection of $10.5 billion by 2028. Catalase is an antioxidant enzyme, whose industrial applicability covers bleaching and sterilisation processes, with its potential, not yet fully explored in dentistry, to mitigate the adverse effects of hydrogen peroxide. Evaluating production costs, especially those related to catalase, becomes essential for biotechnological enterprises, providing crucial economic insights for strategic decisions. Despite the relevance of this aspect, detailed studies on the costs associated with catalase production are still scarce. This study outlined and analysed the costs involved in the production of catalase, from Serratia marcescens, through recombinant methods and bench scale. The analysis revealed that most of the expenditures are concentrated in fixed expenses, such as acquisition of the bacterial lineage, construction of the plasmid and the chromatographic column. In contrast, variable costs are closely related to reagents and plastic supplies. In the energy field, the tariff of R$ 0.5782 per kWh resulted in an estimated total cost of R$ 513.77, considering a total consumption of 888.58 kWh. Thus, we obtained an estimated total cost for expression and purification of R$ 4,760.43 and R$ 9,530.96, respectively. The total cost of production of catalase in bench scale was R$ 14,291.39 and can be amortised in the long term, since 96.0% are reusable expenses, while 4.0% are consumables, including electricity. The study also highlighted specific challenges encountered during the procedure, such as the impact of inadequate media volume on the Erlenmeyer flask and the quality of the transformed cells, which significantly influenced the time required to reach OD600nm. This study highlights the complex interaction between technical challenges and costs in the production of commercial enzymes. As a suggestion for future research, a broader technical-economic analysis is proposed, including a market analysis for dental products, in order to comprehensively assess the viability of catalase production in this specific scenario. This multidisciplinary approach is vital to develop efficient and sustainable strategies in the production of enzymes for commercial applications.