Enhanced Enzyme Activity and Enantioselectivity of Lipases in Organic Solvents by Crown Ethers and Cyclodextrins

Abstract

Lipases from Candida rugosa (CRL) and Pseudomonas cepacia (PCL) were co-lyophilized with cyclic oligoethers including four crown ethers and nine cyclodextrins (CyDs), and their transesterification activity and enantioselectivity in organic solvents were evaluated. The PCL co-lyophilized with each additive showed simultaneously enhanced enzyme activity and enantioselectivity when compared to the native lipase lyophilized from buffer alone; in contrast, such enhancement was not observed for the co-lyophilized CRL. Among the cyclic oligoethers examined, permethylated βCyD (Me1.78βCyD), as the most suitable additive, was used for the optimization of both the co-lyophilized PCL preparation and reaction conditions by determining the effects of varying the additive/lipase ratio, aqueous pH, the nature of organic solvents, and temperature. The initial rate determined for the transesterification between racemic 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane-4-methanol and vinyl butyrate in diisopropyl ether at 30°C increased by up to 17-fold and the enantioselectivity represented by E could be doubled. While there was an inverse correlation between temperature and enantioselectivity, with the Me1.78βCyD-PCL co-lyophilizate, the reaction rate even at 0°C was much higher than that at higher temperatures in the native PCL-catalyzed reaction. Hence, this method seems to be of practical use for the large-scale production of optically active compounds.