Lipase-catalyzed Transesterification in Several Reaction Systems: An Application of Room Temperature Ionic Liquids for Bi-phasic Production of n-Butyl Acetate

Organic solvents are widely used in biotransformation systems. There are many efforts to reduce the consumption of organic solvents because of their toxicity to the environment and human health. In recent years, several groups have started to explore novel organic solvents called room temperature ionic liquids in order to substitute conventional organic solvents. In this work, lipase-catalyzed transesterification in several uni- and bi-phasic systems was studied. Two representative hydrophobic ionic liquids based on 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolum coupled with hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][$PF_6$]) and bis[{trifluoromethylsulfonyl} imide] ([BMIM] [$Tf_{2}N$]) were employed as reaction media for the transesterification of n-butanol. The commercial lipase, Novozym 435, was used for the transesterification reaction with vinyl acetate as an acyl donor. The conversion yield was increased around $10\%$ in a water/[BMIM][$Tf_{2}N$] bi-phasic system compared with that in a water/hexane system. A higher distribution of substrates into the water phase is believed to enhance the conversion yield in a water/[BMIM][$Tf_{2}N$] system. Partition coefficients of the substrates in the water/[BMIM][$Tf_{2}N$] bi-phasic system were higher than three times that found in the water/hexane system, while n-butyl acetate showed a similar distribution in both systems. Thus, RTILs appear to be a promising substitute of organic solvents in some biotransformation systems.