Enzymes with lipases

Of course, the influence of organic solvents on enzyme enantioselectivity is not limited to proteases but it is a general phenomenon. Quite soon, different research groups described the results obtained with lipases [28]. For instance, the resolution of the mucolytic drug ( )-trans-sobrerol (11) was achieved by transesteriflcation with vinyl acetate catalyzed by the lipase from Pseudomonas cepacia adsorbed on celite in various solvents. As depicted in Scheme 1.3 and Table 1.5, it was found that t-amyl alcohol was the solvent of choice in this medium, the selectivity was so high ( >500) that the reaction stopped spontaneously at 50% conversion giving both +)4rans-sobrerol and (—)-trans-sobrerol monoacetate in 100% optical purity [29]. 

Lipase Amano PS-C II was also found to be useful for a high-temperature reaction in the resolution of a bulky substrate, l,l-diphenyl-2-propanol, which showed no reactivity under usual conditions with lipase PS. An enantiopure product was obtained at 40-120°C, and the highest conversion (39%) was obtained at 80-90°C. It is very interesting that a single enzyme is usable in the reaction at a very wide range of temperatures from —80°C to 120°C. 

The KR of secondary alcohols by some hydrolytic enzymes has been well known. The combinations of these hydrolytic enzymes with racemization catalysts have been explored as the catalysts for the efficient DKR of the secondary alcohols. Up to now, lipase and subtilisin have been employed, respectively, as the R- and 5-selective resolution enzymes in combination with metal catalysts (Scheme 2). 

Kinetic behavior of the two-enzyme system (lipase-lipoxygenase) in biphasic media (curve c in Fig. 5) is compared with kinetics of lipoxygenase in the same biphasic medium (b) and in an aqueous medium (a). These curves demonstrated that the configuration of the media influences the production rate of HP. As previously stated, lipoxygenase in biphasic media has an apparent kinetic behavior different from that in aqueous media (see difference between curves a and b in Fig. 5). 

Pancreatic enzyme supplements should be taken immediately prior to meals to aid in the digestion and absorption of food. Alternately, patients can supplement their diet with medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) or ingest foods rich in MCTs since they do not require pancreatic enzymes for absorption. An appropriate regimen incorporates the successful doses of each enzyme (amylase, lipase, and protease) from the starting non-enteric-coated regimen. As with the previous example, a patient stabilized on Viokase-8, six tablets with each meal, can be transitioned to Pancrease MT-16 three tablets with meals. The famotidine can then be discontinued. 

Enzymes that react with a specific type of ester linkage are known as general hydrolysing enzymes. Thus lipases hydrolyse a wide range of organic esters. Generally, phosphatases will break down phosphate esters into phosphoric acid and an alcohol. 

The enzymatic polymerization of lactones is explained by considering the following reactions as the principal reaction course (Fig. 9) [83,85,95,96]. The key step is the reaction of the lactone with lipase involving the ring-opening of the lactone to give the acyl-enzyme intermediate (enzyme-activated monomer,... 

Schmid, R.D. and Verger, R., Lipases interfacial enzymes with attractive applications. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 1998, 37, 1608-1633 Hasan, F., Shah, A.A. and Hameed, A., Industrial applications of microbial lipases. Enzyme. Microb. TechnoL, 2006, 39, 235-251. 

The physiological pathway for oxidation of fatty acids in organs or tissues starts with the enzyme triacylglycerol lipase within adipose tissue, that is, the hormone-sensitive lipase. This enzyme, plus the other two lipases, results in complete hydrolysis of the triacylglycerol to fatty acids, which are transported to various tissues that take them up and oxidise them by P-oxidation to acetyl-CoA. This provides a further example of a metabolic pathway that spans more than one tissue (Figure 7.13) (Box 7.1). 

A novel continuous-flow SCCO2 process for the kinetic resolution of 1-phenyethanol enantiomers (Figure 30) using Novozym 435 immobilized enzyme from Candida antarctica was described by Matsuda et al. [51], The lipase enzyme, selectively acetylated the R)-alcohol component. A mixture of starting material and vinyl acetate was passed through the enzyme with supercritical carbon-dioxide (Figure 31). The reaction zone was pressurized and heated, so the reaction could be performed imder supercritical conditions, synthesizing the desired (i )-acetate with 99.7% ee. and 47% yield. 

Figure 11, Double kinetic resolution using enzymes with opposite enantioselectivity. PPL, porcine pancreatic lipase PLE, pig liver esterase.

Although the hydrolysis of esters with lipases and esterases represents the most common process to obtain chiral intermediates for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, proteases and other hydrolytic enzymes such as epoxide hydrolases and nitrilases have also been used for this purpose. We show here a few representative examples of the action of these biocatalysts that have been recently published. 

Chemoenzymatic polymerizations have the potential to further increase macro-molecular complexity by overcoming these limitations. Their combination with other polymerization techniques can give access to such structures. Depending on the mutual compatibility, multistep reactions as well as cascade reactions have been reported for the synthesis of polymer architectures and will be reviewed in the first part of this article. A unique feature of enzymes is their selectivity, such as regio-, chemo-, and in particular enantioselectivity. This offers oppormnities to synthesize novel chiral polymers and polymer architectures when combined with chemical catalysis. This will be discussed in the second part of this article. Generally, we will focus on the developments of the last 5-8 years. Unless otherwise noted, the term enzyme or lipase in this chapter refers to Candida antarctica Lipase B (CALB) or Novozym 435 (CALB immobilized on macroporous resin). 

In case of lipases, one of the simplest methods to combine an enzyme with an organic solvent is to coat the lipase with a lipid or surfactant layer before lyophilisation. It is estimated that about 150 surfactant molecules are sufficient for encapsulating one lipase molecule. Following this route the surfactant coated lipase forms reverse micelles with a minimum of water concentration. The modified lipases are soluble in most organic solvents, and the reaction rates are increased compared to the suspended hpases due to the interfacial activation [59,60]. 

The water-shell-model, strictly speaking, will only apply to very hydrophilic enzymes which do not contain hydrophobic parts. Many enzymes, like lipases, are surface active and interact with the internal interface of a microemulsion. In fact, lipases need a hydrophobic surface in order to give the substrate access to the active site of the enzyme. Nevertheless, Zaks and Klibanov found out that it is often not necessary to have a monolayer of water on the enzyme surface in order to perform a catalytic reaction in an organic solvent [98]. 

The final step in signal transduction is the action of cAMP on the regulatory subunit of the enzyme, protein kinase A. This ubiquitous enzyme then phosphorylates and activates enzymes with functions specific to different cells and organs. In fat cells, protein kinase A activates lipase, which mobilizes fatty acids in muscle and liver cells, it regulates glycogenolysis and glycogen synthesis. 

Previous studies have shown that muscle lysosomal hydrolases are released early in the postmortem period due to a decrease in intracellular ATP concentrations. The decreased intracellular ATP level causes the rupture of the lysosomal membrane (14), releasing hydrolytic enzymes (proteases, lipases, and glycosidases) that further potentiate the weakening of membrane integrity and cellular function. Furthermore, as the acidosis increases (due to the anaerobic conditions associated with cellular death) the intramuscular pH to levels reach that which are optimal for the activity of several lysosomal thiol proteinases. 

Steatorrhea occurs in patients whose lipase output is at 10% or less of normal. Lipase and other pancreatic enzyme insufficiencies are observed in cystic fibrosis and chronic alcoholic pancreatitis. Patients with various liver diseases may also present with steatorrhea [18]. For these patients, pancreatic enzymes—mainly lipase, protease, and amylase—extracted with alcohol from porcine pancreases have been shown to provide amelioration of diarrhea. These enzymes are enriched and formulated in... 

The enantiopreference of the protease subtilisin in the acylalion of chiral alcohols is known to be opposite to that observed with lipases, providing for access to both enantiomers with DKR, depending on the enzyme used [137, 138, 139]. Acylation using 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl butyrate as the acyl donor was combined with in situ racemization, affording the corresponding esters in high yield and [135]. 

Such resolution could be readily optimized by use of an appropriate acyl group which reacts efficiently with the enzyme employed [29]. For example, the acetate prepared from monofluorinated a-phenetyl alcohol was hydrolyzed with lipase MY at 34% conversion to afford the product only with 26% . Enhancement of optical purity to 73% was observed when the corresponding isobutyrate was hydrolyzed. The best results were obtained for hydrolysis of the isobutyrate by lipase PS, which afforded the product in 82% at 47% hydrolysis. Experience has shown (see Table 3) that one of the best combinations was hydrolysis of acetate with lipase MY or isobutyrate with lipase PS [30]. 

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