Hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl laurate in supercritical carbon dioxide: comparison of two different enzymes

Abstract

The enzymatic hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl laurate (PNPL) to p-nitrophenol (PNP) was studied in supercritical carbon dioxide using crude Hog Pancreas Lipase (HPL) and P roqueforti Lipase (PRL). The two enzymes were compared for their optimal activity temperatures and reaction kinetics. HPL had a higher optimal temperature $(65^oC)$ and better yield (22.5%) compared with PRL whose optimal temperature was $50^oC$ with a 15.3% yield. This is considerably higher than the optimum temperature of $37^oC$ and yields of less than 1% observed in the aqueous medium