Immobilization of Lipase in Cu-BTC MOF with Enhanced Catalytic Performance for Resolution of N-hydroxymethyl Vince Lactam.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) can be used as the immobilization carriers to protect the physicochemical properties of enzymes and improve their catalytic performance. Herein, we report an in situ co-precipitation method to immobilize lipase from Candida sp. 99-125 in Cu-BTC MOF (BTC = 1, 3, 5-benzene tricarboxylic acid, HBTC). Characterizations of the immobilized lipase (lipase@Cu-BTC) have confirmed the entrapment of lipase molecules in Cu-BTC MOF. The immobilized lipase has been successfully applied for resolving N-hydroxymethyl vince lactam (N-HMVL) and its catalytic activity is five times that of native enzyme. More importantly, we found that Cu-BTC MOF can afford powerful protection for enzyme in nearly dry organic solvent and endow the immobilized lipase with excellent reusability and storage stability. Our present study may widen the application of immobilized enzyme with MOF as the immobilized carrier.