Lipase-catalyzed syntheses of sugar esters in non-aqueous media
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Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Synthesis of Esters Via a Greener Steglich Esterification in Acetonitrile
Published on: October 30, 2018
1Division of Food Science and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan. tkoba@kais.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
The lipase-catalyzed reaction is useful to obtain sugar esters with chemically defined structures and will contribute to the synthesis of sugar-based compounds by a chemo-enzymatic pathway. The synthesis of sugar esters in nonaqueous media has been attempted for a quarter century. To facilitate the reactions, they have been performed either in an organic solvent with/without a polar adjuvant or in an ionic liquid, or by using a hydrophobic sugar derivative. In this review, the following points are discussed: (1) various synthetic methods of sugar esters; (2) role of the solvents or adjuvants; and (3) improvement in the productivity.
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