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Updated: Mar 23, 2026

Synthesis of Esters Via a Greener Steglich Esterification in Acetonitrile
Published on: October 30, 2018
Efficient kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols using an organic solvent-tolerant esterase in non-aqueous medium
Wenyuan Gao1, Haiyang Fan1, Lifeng Chen1
1State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, New World Institute of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, People's Republic of China.
Objective:
To identify an esterase-mediated kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols in non-aqueous medium.
Results:
An esterase, EST4, from a marine mud metagenomic library, showed high activity and enantioselectivity for the kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols in non-aqueous medium. Using 1-phenylethanol as the model alcohol, the effects of organic solvents, acyl donors, molar ratio, temperatures and biocatalyst loading on the kinetic resolution catalyzed by the EST4 whole-cell biocatalyst were investigated and optimized. The optimized methodology was effective on resolving 16 various racemic secondary alcohols in neat n-hexane, providing excellent enantiomeric excess (up to 99.9 % ee). Moreover, EST4 exhibited a strong tolerance for high substrate concentration (up to 1 M), and the optical purity of the desired secondary alcohols was kept above 99 % ee.
Conclusion:
The esterase EST4 is a promising biocatalyst for the enantioselective synthesis of various alcohols and esters with interesting practical applications.
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