High-fructose corn syrup production and its new applications for 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and value-added furan derivatives: Promises and challenges

High fructose corn syrup has been industrially produced by converting glucose to fructose by glucose isomerases, tetrameric metalloenzymes widely used in industrial biocatalysis. Advances in enzyme engineering and commercial production of glucose isomerase have paved the way to explore more efficient variants of these enzymes. The 5-hydroxymethylfurfural can be produced from high fructose corn syrup catalytic dehydration, and it can be further converted into various furanic compounds chemically or biologically for various industrial applications as a promising platform chemical. Although the chemical conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural into furanic compounds has been extensively investigated in recent years, bioconversion has shown promise for its mild conditions due to the harsh chemical reaction conditions. This review discusses protein engineering potential for improving glucose isomerase production and recent advancements in bioconversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural into value-added furanic derivatives. It suggests biological strategies for the industrial transformation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural.