Factors influencing enantioselectivity of lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis

Some factors influencing the enantioselectivity of lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis have been investigated. Enantioselectivity of the reaction increases with the increase in the concentration of substrate. Addition of certain organic solvent to the reaction mixture results in the change in enantioselectivity: hexane, cyclopentane, benzene and diisopropyl ether improve the enantioselectivity, whereas cyclohexane deteriorates it. A detergent, Triton X-100, and 2,2-dimethylbutane do not influence the enantioselectivity under the condition that kinetics is saturated with respect to the substrate. The fluctuation of enantioselectivity depends on the binding of hydrophobic compound to the lipase. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd