Kinetics of Lipase Catalyzed Enantioselective Esterification of Racemic Ibuprofen in Isooctane

The kinetics of Candida rugosa lipase catalyzed esterification of racemic ibuprofen with n-butanol in isooctane was studied. The kinetic study was carried out with the addition of 0.1% and 2% (by volume) of water for enzyme activation respectively when celite was added into isooctane for enzyme dispersion. The specific initial rate for S-ibuprofen can be fitted with the Ping Pong Bi Bi mechanism with dead-end competitive inhibition by the alcohol. The time courses of the enantioselective esterification of the two ibuprofen enantiomers with different initial substrate concentrations and water contents were simulated with a model in which both effects of enzyme inactivation by long term reaction and reversed hydrolytic reaction under high water content were taken into consideration.

Resolution of Ibuprofen Ester by Catalytic Antibodies in Water-miscible Organic-solvents

The asymmetric hydrolysis of racemic ibuprofen ester is one of the most important methods for chiral separation of ibuprofen. In this work, a catalytic antibody that accelerates the rate of enantioselective hydrolysis of ibuprofen methyl ester was obtained against an immunogen consisting of tetrahedral phosphonate hapten attached to bovine serum albumin (BSA). The catalytic activity of the catalytic antibody in the water-miscible organic-solvent system composed of a buffer solution and N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) was studied. With 6% DMF in the buffer solution (containing catalytic antibody 0.25 μmol, 0.2 mol·L-1 phosphate buffer, pH 8) at 37°C for 10 h, a good conversion (48.7%) and high enantiomeric excess (>99%) could be reached. The kinetic analysis of the cata-lytic antibody-catalyzed reaction showed that the hydrolysis in the water-miscible organic-solvent system with DMF in buffer solution followed the Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The catalytic efficiency (Kcat/Km) was enhanced to 151.91 L·mmol-1·min-1, twice as large as that for the buffer solution only.

Kinetic Treatment for Copolymerization of Styrene or Methyl Methacrylate with N-phenylmaleimide

Shirota's kinetic model and our kinetic model were used to treat the kinetic data of styrene (St) and N-phenylmaleimide (PMI) copolymerization in which charge-transfer complex (CTC) was formed. The results obtained by Shirota's kinetic model were disagreed with the experiments and the experimental phenomena could not be explained. The kinetic data of all feed fractions can be treated with our kinetic model, and the experimental phenomena can be explained from the propagation constants and reactivity ratios. Our kinetic model is also suitable for the kinetic data of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and PMI copolymerization in which CTC can not be formed.

Contamination of Phthalate Esters in Vegetable Agriculture and Human Cumulative Risk Assessment

Phthalate esters （PAEs）, which can disturb human endocrine system, have been widely detected in vegetable greenhouse agriculture in China. To investigate the effects of environmental factors on PAEs in soils, pollution sources were identified, and the cumulative risks of PAEs to humans through vegetables in the diet were evaluated in this study. Ninety-eight vegetable samples were collected from 10 markets along with 128 vegetable and 111 soil samples from agricultural greenhouses and open field. All soil and vegetable samples were contaminated with PAEs, and the total concentrations of the 5 PAEs, including dimethyl phthalate （DMP）, diethyl phthalate （DEP）, di-iso-butyl phthalate （DiBP）, di-n-butyl phthalate （DnBP）, and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate （DEHP）, were in the ranges of 0.26-2.53 mg kg-1 for soils and 0.95-8.09 mg kg-1 for vegetables. Three components extracted from principle component analysis could explain 51.2%, 19.8%, and 15.3% of the total variance of the 5 PAEs in soils, which may represent three major sources of PAEs, i.e., wastewater irrigation, application of fertilizers and pesticides, and plastic film. Long-term greenhouse cultivation could accumulate DEHP in soils, and a higher soil FeOx content reduced the DnBP concentration. Based on a survey of vegetables in the diet, the hazard index of PAEs was 〈 0.15 for individuals in different cities. The exposure of PAEs through vegetable intake was higher than the total exposure from other food stuffS, inhalation, and dermal absorption. More attention should be g!ven to controlling PAEs in greenhouse vegetables.