Kinetic Study of Enzymatic Reaction in Aqueous-Organic Two-Phase Systems - An Example of Enhanced Production of Aldehydes by Alcohol Oxidase

Abstract Alcohol oxidase-catalyzed oxidation of butanol and hexanol to corresponding aldehydes (butanal and hexanal) was studied in two-liquid phase systems. For the overall production of aldehyde, the two-phase system was superior to the aqueous system. The kinetic investigation revealed that the product, aldehyde acted not only as a competitive inhibitor but also as a denaturant against the eyzyme. Thus, the enhanced conversion in the two-phase systems was mainly brought about by an extractive removal of aldehyde into the organic phase. The time courses of the enzymatic reactions were well simulated by a simple mathematical model assuming partitioning of the reagents between the two phases.