Improvement of the enantioselectivity of lipase-catalyzed naproxen ester hydrolysis in organic solvent

A method is presented to improve the enantioselectivity of lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of naproxen methyl ester in water-saturated isooctane. It is sh own that coupling of the enantioselective hydrolysis of Naproxen methyl est er with the photo-dissociation methanol leads to the photocatalytic convers ion of methanol into water, by which the equilibrium constant (K) of the li pase-catalyzed hydrolysis was changed. The equilibrium yield and enantiomer ic excess are increased. Because the lipase would not dissolve in the organ ic solvent, it was adsorbed on photocatalyst particles, which may facilitat e the isolation of enzyme from reaction system. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science I nc. All rights reserved.