Catalysts Encapsulated in Biopolymer Hydrogels for Chemoenzymatic One‐Pot Processes in Aqueous Media

Abstract

AbstractCombining bio‐ and chemocatalysts for chemoenzymatic reaction sequences is of high interest to organic chemistry. In this study, we combined a ring‐closing metathesis reaction conducted by a Grubbs’ catalyst and a subsequent enzymatic ester hydrolysis reaction conducted by pig liver esterase within a two‐step one‐pot process. We addressed sustainability by encapsulating both catalysts in biopolymer‐based hydrogels derived from renewable resources to allow straightforward recycling and using aqueous media for the reactions. When we investigated the approaches of either conducting the reaction sequence in the same solvent for both reactions or using different preferred solvents for each reaction, the enzyme activity turned out to be enhanced when encapsulating the enzyme, thus shielding it from the Grubbs’ catalyst. In terms of recycling, the encapsulated catalysts demonstrated promising performance with >80 % conversion for seven runs.