The Effect of Solvent Hydrophilicity on the Enzymatic Ring-Opening Polymerization of L-Lactide by Candida rugosa Lipase

• Published in: Polymers Vol. 14; no. 18; p. 3856
• Main Authors: Curie, Catia Angli, Darmawan, Muhammad Arif, Dianursanti, Dianursanti, Budhijanto, Wiratni, Gozan, Misri
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 15-09-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Candida rugosa lipase; Dimethyl acetamide; Dodecane; enzymatic ring-opening polymerization (eROP); Enzyme activity; Enzymes; Hydrophilicity; hydrophobicity; Ionic liquids; L-lactide; Lipase; Molecular weight; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; polylactic acid; Polymerization; Ring opening polymerization; Solvents; Toluene; Viscosity; United States > US
• ISSN: 2073-4360; 2073-4360
• DOI: 10.3390/polym14183856

Contradictions have been reported on the effect of organic solvents, especially toluene, on enzymatic ring-opening polymerization (eROP) of L-lactide. Studies have shown that log P, a common measure of hydrophilicity, affects enzyme activity. This study examines the effect of solvents with various log P values on the eROP of L-lactide, performed using Candida rugosa lipase (CRL). N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA), 1,2-dimethoxybenzene, 1,4-dimethoxybenzene, diphenyl ether, and dodecane were used as the organic solvents. The eROP in ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][PF6]) was also conducted to compare its performance with the organic solvents. The results show that [BMIM][PF6]-mediated eROP gave better conversion and molecular weight than the organic solvent-mediated eROP. In this study, the effects of solvents hydrophilicity are discussed, including the possibility of hexafluorophosphate ion ([PF6]−) hydrolysis to occur.