Enzymatic hydrolysis of carboxylic acid derivs. - by forming a soln. of the acid deriv. in an organic solvent with only slight water miscibility, saturating the soln. with water and contacting with a hydrolase

Process for enzymatic hydrolysis of a carboxylic acid deriv. (I) in which the (I) is dissolved in an organic solvent (II) which is only slightly miscible with water, the soln. is satd. with water and contacted with a hydrolase, whereby hydrolysis takes place with consumption of water, and the organic reaction soln. is resatd. with water and contacted with hydrolase until the desired degree of conversion has taken place. USE/ADVANTAGE - The process allows high conversion of the (I) to be achieved with maintenance of high activity of the hydrolase, without the necessity for chemical modification of the hydrolase. (I) is e.g. carboxylic acid esters, -diesters and -triesters, carboxylic acid amides, carboxylic acid thioesters or analagous thiocarboxylic derivs., which upon hydrolysis yield the corresponding carboxylic acid or thiocarboxylic acid and alcohols, amines, thiols etc. Pref. (I) is a chiral or prochiral carboxylic acid deriv., which can be hydrolysed with a stereospecific hydrolase into optically active cpds., in which one of the possible enantiomers, depending on the stereospecificity of the hydrolase, is at least enriched. (I) is esp. a mixt. of enantiomeric chiral carboxylic acid esters exhibiting the chiral centre in the acid part, esp. 2-substd. alkanoic acid esters and partic. 2-halopropionic acid esters.