Enzymatic Catalysis in Organic Media at 100°C

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Abstract
Porcine pancreatic lipase catalyzes the transesterification reaction between tributyrin and various primary and secondary alcohols in a 99 percent organic medium. Upon further dehydration, the enzyme becomes extremely thermostable. Not only can the dry lipase withstand heating at 100°C for many hours, but it exhibits a high catalytic activity at that temperature. Reduction in water content also alters the substrate specificity of the lipase: in contrast to its wet counterpart, the dry enzyme does not react with bulky tertiary alcohols.