Carboxylated single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SwCNTCOOH) were used as a support for the covalent immobilization of phenylalanine ammonia‐lyase (PAL) from parsley by two different methods. The nanostructured biocatalysts (SwCNTCOOH‐PALI and SwCNTCOOH‐PALII) with low diffusional limitation were tested in the batch‐mode kinetic resolution of racemic 2‐amino‐3‐(thiophen‐2‐yl)propanoic acid (1) to yield a mixture of (R)‐1 and (E)‐3‐(thiophen‐2‐yl)acrylic acid (2) and in ammonia addition to 2 to yield enantiopure (S)‐1. SwCNTCOOH‐PALII was a stable biocatalyst (>90 % of the original activity remained after six cycles with 1 and after three cycles in 6 m NH3 with 2). The study of ammonia addition to 2 in a continuous‐flow microreactor filled with SwCNTCOOH‐PALII (2 m NH3, pH 10.0, 15 bar) between 30–80 °C indicated no significant loss of activity over 72 h up to 60 °C. SwCNTCOOH‐PALII in the continuous‐flow system at 30 °C was more productive (specific reaction rate, r flow=2.39 μmol min−1 g−1) than in the batch reaction (r batch=1.34 μmol min−1 g−1).

HighlightsPhenyl-/aminoalkylsilane-grafted silica gels were used as supports for CaLB.Adsorption onto mixed-function-grafted silica supports resulted in active CaLB.CaLB adsorption and glutardialdehyde cross-linking resulted in enhanced durability.The novel CaLB biocatalysts were used in kinetic resolutions of a secondary alcohol and an amine.The novel CaLBs were robust biocatalysts in continuous-flow biotransformations. AbstractAdsorption onto solid supports has proven to be an easy and effective way to improve the mechanical and catalytic properties of lipases. Covalent binding of lipases onto the support surface enhances the active lifetime of the immobilized biocatalysts. Our study indicates that mesoporous silica gels grafted with various functions are ideal supports for both adsorptive and covalent binding for lipase B from Candida antarctica (CaLB). Adsorption of CaLB on phenyl-functionalized silica gels improved in particular its specific activity, whereas adsorption on aminoalkyl-modified silica gels enabling covalent binding with the proper reagents resulted in only moderate specific activity. In addition, adsorption on silica gels modified by mixtures of phenyl-and aminoalkyl silanes significantly increased the productivity of CaLB. Furthermore, CaLB adsorbed onto a phenyl/aminoalkyl-modified surface and then treated with glutardialdehyde (GDA) as cross-linking agent provided a biocatalyst of enhanced durability. Adsorbed and cross-linked CaLB was resistant to detergent washing that would otherwise physically deactivate adsorbed CaLB preparations. The catalytic properties of our best immobilized CaLB variants, including temperaturedependent behavior were compared between 0 and 70 °C with those of two commercial CaLB biocatalysts in the continuous-flow kinetic resolutions of racemic 1-phenylethanol rac-1a and 1-phenylethanamine rac-1b.

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Abstract:The bioimprinting effect in sol-gel immobilization of lipases was studied to develop efficient novel immobilized biocatalysts with significantly improved properties for biotransformations in continuous-flow systems. The bioimprinting candidates were selected systematically among the substrate mimics already found in the active site of experimental lipase structures. Four lipases (Lipase AK, Lipase PS, CaLB and CrL) were immobilized by a sol-gel process with nine bioimprinting candidates using various combinations of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), phenyltriethoxysilane (PhTEOS), octyltriethoxysilane (OcTEOS) and dimethyldiethylsilane (DMDEOS) as silica precursors. The biocatalytic properties of the immobilized lipases were characterized by enantiomer selective acylation of various racemic secondary alcohols in two different multisubstrate systems (mixture A: a series of alkan-2-ols rac-1a-e and mixture B: heptan-2-ol rac-1f and 1-phenylethanol rac1g). Except with Lipase AK, the most significant activity enhancement was found with the imprinting molecules already found as substrate mimics in Xray structures of various lipases. The synthetic usefulness of the best biocatalysts was demonstrated by the kinetic resolution of racemic 1-(thiophen-2-yl)ethanol (rac-1h) in batch and continuous-flow systems.