(74b) Using Tunable Solvents to Couple Biphasic Extraction with Homogeneous Reactions

Using Organic Aqueous Tunable Solvents (OATS), we show the addition of an organic solvent and CO₂ pressure to traditional aqueous enzymatic reaction media facilitates product extraction with opportunities for both solvent and enzyme recycles. To illustrate enzyme recycle we use OATS for the hydrolysis of phenethyl alcohol with the enzyme catalyst Candida antarctica. This OATS system exhibits a volumetric productivity approximately 5 times greater than an equivalent residence time of 2 hours in a traditional solvent. This process offers environmental and economic advantages for facile separation of hydrophobic products with simultaneous recycle of hydrophilic catalysts. It is particularly useful for enzymatic transformations of water insoluble substrates such as chiral drug precursors.