Resolution of Racemic Mixtures via Lipase Catalysis in Organic Solvents

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/ja00310a052

Yeast lipase and porcine pancreatic lipase have been found to vigorously function in nearly anhydrous organic solvents and catalyze the reactions of esterification and transesterification, respectively, in highly stereoselective manner.With use of these enzymatic processes, a number of optically active alcohols, carboxylic acids, and their esters have been prepared on a gram scale.