Ketoprofen Resolution by Enzymatic Esterification and Hydrolysis of the Ester Product

Immobilized Candida antarctica lipase was used to catalyze the separation of ketoprofen into its components by means of esterification followed by the enzymatic hydrolysis of the ester product. In this study, ketoprofen underwent esterification to ethanol in the presence of isooctane. When the reaction was complete, 58.3% of the ketoprofen had been transformed into an ester. The ketoprofen remaining in solution after the reaction was complete consisted primarily of its S-enantiomer (83.0%), while the 59.4% of the ketoprofen component of the ester consisted of its R-enantiomer. We then subjected the ester product to enzymatic hydrolysis in the presence of the same enzyme and produced a ketoprofen product rich in the R-enantiomer; 77% of this product consisted of the R-enantiomer when 50% of the ester had been hydrolyzed, and 90% of it consisted of the R-enantiomer when 30% of the ester had been hydrolyzed. By contrast, the R-enantiomer levels only reached approximately 42 and 65%, respectively, when 50 and 30% of the racemic ester was hydrolyzed under the same conditions.