Lipases and lipase-catalyzed esterification reactions in nonaqueous media

Enzymatic reactions in nonaqueous solvents offer new possibilities for the biotechnological production of many useful chemicals using reactions that are not feasible in aqueous media. In the recent years, the use of enzymes in nonaqueous media has found applications in organic synthesis, chiral synthesis or resolution, modification of fats and oils, synthesis of sugar-based polymers, etc. The use of lipases in esterification reactions to produce industrially important products such as emulsifiers, surfactants, wax esters, chiral molecules, biopolymers, modified fats and oils, structured lipids, and flavor esters is well documented. The interest in using lipases as biotechnological vectors for performing various reactions in both macro- and microaqueous systems has picked up tremendously during the last decade. This review covers important features of lipases and lipase-catalyzed esterification reactions including the kinetics and stability of lipases, and modeling aspects.