Kinetics of Lipase Catalyzed Enantioselective Esterification of Racemic Ibuprofen in Isooctane

The kinetics of Candida rugosa lipase catalyzed esteritlcation of racemic ibuprofen with n-butanol in isooctane was studied. The kinetic study was carried out with the addition of 0.1% and 2% (by volume) of water for enzyme activation respectively when celite was added into isooctane for enzyme dispersion. The specific initial rate for S-ibuprofen can be fitted with the Ping Pong Bi Bi mechanism with dead-end competitive inhibition by the alcohol. The time courses of the enantioselective esteriflcation of the two ibuprofen enantiomers with different initial substrate concentrations and water contents were simulated with a model in which both effects of enzyme inactivation by long term reaction and reversed hydrolytic reaction under high water content were taken into consideration.