D-amino acid oxidase
Biotechnology
### Biotechnology

#### Cephalosporin synthesis

D\-amino acid oxidase is used in [biotechnology](/wiki/Biotechnology "Biotechnology") primarily to produce antibiotics called [cephalosporins](/wiki/Cephalosporins "Cephalosporins"). The use of D\-amino acid oxidase for the creation of antibiotics is a patented production of antibiotics and started in 1970\. Originally the D\-amino acid oxidase used in this process was taken from a pig’s kidney and was given the name pkDAAO. PkDAAO is very unstable throughout the processes of antibiotic synthesis and therefore gave a low yield of antibiotics. Through continued research a more successful form of D\-amino acid oxidase was discovered from a yeast species named *Rhodotorula gracilis* and therefore was named RgDAAO. RgDAAO is now used as the primary D\-amino acid oxidase used in cephalosporin antibiotics because the immobilization on commercial ion exchange resins creates a more stable system that yields much higher amounts of antibiotics.

#### D\-amino acid biosensor

D\-amino acid oxidase reacts to D\-amino acids and can be used to detect the amount of D\-amino acids in foods to act as a [biosensor](/wiki/Biosensor "Biosensor"). This is important due to the effects of D\-amino acids in the D\-isomer or multiple [enantiomers](/wiki/Enantiomer "Enantiomer") present in food has on the nutritional value. The more D\-isomer or multiple enantiomers present in food, the lower the nutritional value of the food is, so using D\-amino acid oxidase to detect these allows for an increase in selection for nutritionally valuable foods. There is no evidence to prove that D\-amino acids are toxic, but it raises many possible concerns whether some foods are toxic.


How is D-amino acid oxidase used in biotechnology?