Patent ID: 7785826

Claim:
A method for the enzymatic elimination of an N-acyl side chain from a lipopeptide, wherein the lipopeptide is a cyclohexapeptide having an N-acyl side chain, to form the corresponding nucleus, comprising (a) preparing the lipopeptide by fermentation, the lipopeptide being bound to the cells of a biomass produced by the fermentation, and removing the biomass with the adhering lipopeptide, (b) resuspending the biomass with the adhering lipopeptide from step (a) in an aqueous system, (c) adding a suitable deacylase which is capable of cleaving an N-acyl side chain in dissolved or solid form to the suspension of the biomass from step (b), and forming the corresponding nucleus, and (d) optionally isolating and purifying the nucleus, wherein the lipopeptide obtained by fermentation in step (a) is reacted after the end of the fermentation as cell-bound biomass without further purification directly with the deacylase in step (c), whereby the N-acyl side chain linked via an amide linkage is eliminated.