Enantioselective Esterification of Racemic Ibuprofen in Solvent Media under Reduced Pressure

The enantioselective esterification of (R,S)-ibuprofen has been performed with Novozym 435TM in solvent media under reduced pressure. The nature of the solvent affects the activity and enantioselectivity of the lipase. High esterification rates are obtained in solvents having high hydrophobicity (log P>4). On the other hand, the best enantioselectivity is obtained with solvents having low hydrophobicity (log P