Kinetics of lipase catalyzed enantioselective esterification of racemic ibuprofen in isooctane

The kinetics of Candida rugosa lipase catalyzed esterification of racemic ibuprofen with n-butanol in isooctane was studied. The kinetic study was carried out with the addition of 0.1% and 2% (by volume) of water for enzyme activation respectively when celite was added into isooctane for enzyme dispersion. The specific initial rate for S-ibuprofen can be fitted with the Ping Pong Pi Bi mechanism with dead-end competitive inhibition by the alcohol. The time courses of the enantioselective esterification of the two ibuprofen enantiomers with different initial substrate concentrations and water contents were simulated with a model in which both effects of enzyme inactivation by long term reaction and reversed hydrolytic reaction under high water content were taken into consideration.