Patent ID: 6455285
Filing Date: 2002-09-24
Classification: C12P

Abstract:
A method of esterifying organic solvent-insoluble macromolecules by enzymatic catalysis, the method comprising the steps of:(a) solubilizing an enzyme in a volume of hydrophobic organic solvent provided with a surfactant by formation of enzyme-surfactant ion pairs, (b) initiating an esterification reaction by addition to the volume of hydrophobic organic solvent containing the solubilized enzyme of (i) a macromolecule to be esterified having at least one hydroxyl group available for esterification and (ii) a molar excess, relative to the number of macromolecule hydroxyl groups available for esterification, of an acyl group donor reagent, (c) allowing the esterification reaction to continue under incubation conditions, and (d) terminating the esterification reaction by washing the macromolecule with a volume of fresh hydrophobic organic solvent to remove any unreacted acyl reagent, wherein the macromolecule is selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl alcohol and polyethylene glycol.