1 research outputs found
Modulating Biocatalytic Activity toward Sterically Bulky Substrates in CO<sub>2</sub>‑Expanded Biobased Liquids by Tuning the Physicochemical Properties
The study of CO<sub>2</sub>-expanded liquids using a green component
such as a biobased solvent has been recently raised as a new concept
for an alternative solvent and yet been largely unexplored in the
literature for neither fundamental nor application studies. On the
other hand, structural bulkiness of substrates remains one of the
main limitations to promote enzymes as an efficient versatile catalytic
tool for organic synthesis, especially biocatalysis in nonconventional
solvents. Herein, we report a detailed investigation of CO<sub>2</sub>-expanded biobased liquids as reaction media for improved biocatalysis
of sterically hindered compounds. We found that CO<sub>2</sub> acts
as a crucial trigger for various lipases to catalyze transesterification
of challenging bulky alcohols in CO<sub>2</sub>-expanded 2-methyltetrahydrofuran
(MeTHF). Furthermore, this study determines the physicochemical and
transport properties of CO<sub>2</sub>-expanded MeTHF for the first
time, which were then utilized for modulating biocatalytic activity.
It was found that lipase activity increased with the accordingly decrease
of the dipolarity of CO<sub>2</sub>-expanded MeTHF, which is tunable
by altering the concentration of CO<sub>2</sub> in the solvent system