Modulation of the enantioselectivity of Candida antarctica B lipase via conformational engineering: Kinetic resolution of (±)-α-hydroxy-phenylacetic acid derivatives

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0957-4166(02)00325-7

The modulation, via immobilization and engineering the reaction medium, of the enantioselectivity exhibited by the lipase from Candida antarctica B (CABL) in the hydrolysis of α-hydroxy-phenylacetic acid derivatives is shown. The enzyme was purified and immobilized using different protocols to obtain immobilized enzyme preparations with different orientations and micro-environments. The catalytic properties (activity, specificity, enantioselectivity) of the resulting derivatives were found to be quite different from each other. The enantioselectivity (E value) strongly depends on the type of derivative and the conditions employed. Thus, the enzyme immobilized on cyanogen bromide (CNBr) presented E=7.4, while the PEI derivative yielded E=67 in the hydrolysis of α-hydroxy-phenylacetic acid methyl ester under similar conditions. Moreover, the enantioselectivity of the PEI derivative decreased from 67 to 14 on lowering the reaction temperature from 25 to 4°C at pH 5, while the E of some other derivatives improved significantly under similar experimental changes. Similar changes in the E values were observed in the hydrolysis of (RS)-2-butyroyl-2-phenylacetic acid. Using this substrate, the interfacially adsorbed enzyme (octadecyl) afforded an E value of only 2 at pH 5, while the glutaraldehyde derivative presented a high enantioselectivity (E >400) under all conditions studied. The corresponding (S)-ester and (R)-acid were obtained with excellent enantiomeric excess using the glutaraldehyde derivative, while using the interfacially immobilized one there was no appreciable enantioselectivity. Thus, using differently immobilized derivatives and different experimental conditions, lipase enantioselectivity could vary from negligible to up to 400. The experimental conditions were also found to have varying effects on the different lipase derivatives.