Aldol condensation catalyzed by lipase lipoprotein in aqueous phase

Aldol condensation is one of the most important carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions in organic synthesis, which is widely used in the preparation of chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The experiment results in this study demonstrate that lipase lipoprotein (LPL) and imidazole can efficiently co-catalyze the Aldol reaction of aromatic aldehyde and ketones in aqueous phase. The influence of different additives, additive loading, water content, temperature, reaction time on the enzymatic reaction was investigated. The optimum conditions were found as 30% (v/v) water content, 60%(mol) imidazole, lipase 0.2 g, reaction temperature 35℃ for 48 h. Aromatic aldehydes with electron-withdrawing substituents can react with aliphatic ketones, cyclic ketones and heterocyclic ketones with good to excellent yields (51.8%~92.5%). Compared with previously reported methods, this new procedure offers advantages including environmental friendliness, wider substrate scope, higher yields and shorter reaction time.