Biocatalytic enantiomeric resolution of l-menthol from an eight isomeric menthol mixture through transesterification
作者:D. Brady、S. Reddy、B. Mboniswa、L.H. Steenkamp、A.L. Rousseau、C.J. Parkinson、J. Chaplin、R.K. Mitra、T. Moutlana、S.F. Marais、N.S. Gardiner
DOI:10.1016/j.molcatb.2011.10.011
日期:2012.3
The four diastereomers of menthol and their enantiomers, namely DL-menthol, DL-neomenthol, DL-neoisomenthol and DL-isomenthol, were synthesised by the hydrogenation of thymol to yield an eight isomer liquid menthol. A suitably selective lipase was sought to preferentially esterify L-menthol in organic solvent, hence simplifying separation from the diasteromeric mix through distillation. From an initial screen a commercial Pseudomonas fluorescens lipase (Amano AK) was selected, and vinyl acetate was chosen as a suitable irreversible acyl donor for transesterification. The reaction reagent ratios were optimised, and an enantiomeric excess (ee) of L-menthol of greater than 95% was reproducibly achievable at a conversion of 30% DL-menthol (0.68 M) at <= 50 degrees C. On the basis of the composition of liquid menthol the reaction had a diastereomeric excess (de) of 82%. The enzyme was recycled 150 times in 5 ml batch reactions using liquid menthol and achieving an overall yield of 184.3 g DL-menthol/g commercial enzyme preparation. The by-product acetic acid, formed by hydrolysis of menthyl acetate, was found to cause a high degree of enzyme inactivation.The resolution reaction was scaled up 400 fold to 2 L and the enzyme recycled 38 times with an average conversion of the available L-menthol of 59% and a volumetric productivity of 1.2 g/L/h. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.