Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 30, 2026

Defining Substrate Specificities for Lipase and Phospholipase Candidates
Published on: November 23, 2016
Transesterification of a Tertiary Alcohol by Engineered Candida antarctica Lipase A
Johanna Löfgren1, Tamás Görbe1, Michael Oschmann1
1Department of Organic Chemistry, Arrhenius Laboratory, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden.
Abstract:
Tertiary alcohols are known to be challenging substrates for applications in asymmetric synthesis due to their complexity and steric hinderance. The occurrence of tertiary alcohols and their esters in nature indicates the presence of natural biocatalytic synthetic routes for their preparation. Lipase A from Candida antarctica (CalA) is a hydrolase that has previously been shown to catalyze the transesterification of racemic 2-phenylbut-3-yn-2-ol at a low rate. In this work, the activity of that enzyme was improved by protein engineering through a semi-rational design strategy. An enzyme library was created and screened for transesterification activity towards racemic 2-phenylbut-3-yn-2-ol in an organic solvent. One successful enzyme variant (L367G) showed a tenfold increased reaction rate compared to the wild-type enzyme, while maintaining a high enantioselectivity.
Related Concept Videos
Tertiary Healthcare System
Nomenclature of Secondary and Tertiary Amines
What is Genetic Engineering?
Oxidation of Alcohols
The process of oxidation in a chemical reaction is observed in any of the three forms:
Ethers from Alcohols: Alcohol Dehydration and Williamson Ether Synthesis
Ethers can be prepared from organic compounds by various methods. Some of them are discussed below,
Preparation of Ethers by Alcohol Dehydration
In this method, in the presence of protic acids, alcohol dehydrates to produce alkenes and ethers under different conditions. For example, in the presence of sulphuric acid, dehydration of ethanol at 413 K yields ethoxyethane, whereas it yields ethene at 443 K.
Protection of Alcohols
Protection
It defines a protecting group as the masking agent to make the more reactive species inert to a given set of conditions. This concept is depicted via the illustration of liquid flow through different outlets in an assembly of pipes. The analogy helps to understand the role...

