CO2-expanded bio-based liquids as novel solvents for enantioselective biocatalysis

For the first time, CO2-expanded bio-based liquids were reported as novel and sustainable solvents for biocatalysis. Herein, it was found that by expansion with CO2, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (MeTHF), and other bio-based liquids, which were not favorable solvents for immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B (Novozym 435) catalyzed transesterification, were tuned into excellent reaction media. Especially, for the kinetic resolution of challenging bulky secondary substrates such as rac-1-adamantylethanol, the lipase displayed very high activity with excellent enantioselectivity (E value > 200) in CO2-expanded MeTHF (MeTHF concentration 10% v/v, 6 MPa), whereas there was almost no activity observed in conventional organic solvents.

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