Abstract
This chapter reviews the field of reactions in supercritical fluids (SCFs) and gives several examples of experimental studies on lipase-catalyzed reactions in SCFs. Supercritical fluids can be advantageously used as reaction media. It may be possible to carry out enzymatic reactions reducing interphase mass transfer limitations, and labile reaction products could be more readily isolated from the reaction mixture by adjusting the pressure and/or the temperature to induce a phase split, thus avoiding unwanted side reactions. Moreover, reaction rates may be advantageously enhanced by running the reaction at conditions close to the critical point of the pure SCF. A change in temperature or pressure can influence the solvation state of the substrate, product, and even the enzyme, and improve results in terms of reaction velocities and selectivity. Integration of reaction and separation bioprocesses will further demonstrate the superior characteristics of SCFs and will lead to use of these fluids in many new application areas.
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