Calix[n]arene Carboxylic Acid Derivatives as Regulators of Enzymatic Reactions: Enhanced Enantioselectivity in Lipase-Catalyzed Hydrolysis of (R/S)-Naproxen Methyl Ester

Candida rugosa lipase was immobilized with a sol–gel encapsulation procedure in the presence and absence of a calixn]arene carboxylic acid derivative grafted onto magnetic nanoparticles or in the presence of the calixn]arene carboxylic acid derivative with Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles as an additive. Through the enantioselective hydrolysis of racemic naproxen methyl ester and the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenylpalmitate, the relative enzyme activity was evaluated and tested. These results show that the encapsulated lipase without supports has lower conversion and enantioselectivity compared to the Calixn]COOH-based encapsulated lipase. It has also been observed that the Calix4]COOH-based encapsulated lipase has excellent enantioselectivity (enantiomeric ratio (E)?>?400) as compared to encapsulated-free lipase enantioselectivity (E?=?137), and it also has an enantiomeric excess value of ~98 % for S-naproxen.