Dehydration polycondensation in water for synthesis of polyesters by lipase catalyst

Synthesis of aliphatic polyesters was performed by dehydration polycondensation in water using lipase as catalyst. Effects of the lipase origin and reaction parameters on the polymer yield and molecular weight have been systematically investigated in the combination of sebacic acid and I,8-octanediol. In the polymerization of alpha,omega-dicarboxylic acid and glycol, the polymerization behavior greatly depended on the chain length of the monomers. The polymer was obtained in good yields from 1,10-decanediol, whereas no polymer formation was observed in using 1,6-hexanediol. Oxyacids were also enzymatically polymerized in water to give the corresponding polyesters. The terminal structure was analyzed by NMR and MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopies. The reason of the dehydration polymerization in water was speculated.