Esterification of Secondary Alcohols and Multi-hydroxyl Compounds by Candida antarctica Lipase B and Subtilisin

Enzyme-catalyzed esterification of secondary alcohols and multi-hydroxyl compounds is one of the most valuable reactions in organic synthesis. However, it is often difficult to achieve high reaction rates and high regio-selectivities with commonly used enzymes such as lipases and proteases. One of the reasons may include bulky substituents of the secondary alcohols and multi-hydroxyl compounds (e.g., carbohydrates and flavonoids). The stereospecificity pocket of lipases, which is considered as a pocket for the binding of medium substituent, might not accept a large substituent due to steric hindrance. Thereby, this review has focused on the discussion about literature survey and structural feature of the most commonly used lipase (i.e., Candida antarctica lipase B (CAL-B)) and serine-protease (i.e., subtilisin) for acylation of secondary alcohols and complex molecules.