High yield and optical purity in biocatalysed acylation of trans-2-phenyl-1-cyclohexanol with Candida rugosa lipase in non-conventional media

Candida rugosa lipase (CRL) shows high enantioselectivity toward (1R,2S)-(-)-trans-2-phenyl-1-cyclohexanol enantiomer in acetylation reaction employing vinyl acetate as acyl donor. Attempts to improve reaction yields have pointed out that supercritical CO2 is the best reaction medium in the studied biocatalytic process. In these conditions an immobilised lipase from Candida rugosa is able to quantitatively resolve: racemate with e.e.(p) 100%. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.