Acid-base characterization of 5-hydroxypyrazine-2-carboxylic acid and the role of ionic equilibria in the optimization of some process conditions for its biocatalytic production

This paper describes the use of potentiometric titration to determine the relevant acid-base properties of 5-hydroxypyrazine-2-carboxylic acid (5OH-PYCA), an important intermediate in the production of tuberculostatics. The data obtained were used for calculation of the dissociation constants of 5OH-PYCA. It was found that 5OH-PYCA dissociates in two steps, with the corresponding dissociation constants pK (a1)=3.42 and pK (a2)=7.96, designating 5OH-PYCA as a medium weak acid (1st step). The distribution diagram of dissociated species and the buffer-strength diagram of 5OH-PYCA provide useful information about its behaviour at different pH. The ionic equilibria data obtained can be used for selection of the optimum pH for biotransformation of pyrazine-2-carboxylic acid (PYCA) and for prediction of pH changes during the biotransformation. These data can also be used for selection of the optimum pH for precipitating 5OH-PYCA in downstream processing. All computations have been optimized by mathematical modelling using Solver.