Enzyme-catalyzed Polyester Synthesis

Abstract

Enzyme-catalyzed polymer synthesis has gathered many scientists around a major topic such as the synthesis of polyesters by enzyme catalysis. Since the mid 80′s indeed, it is commonly accepted and experimented that lipases in particular are able to catalyze reverse reactions when they are used in organic media (less data are reported on esterases or proteases). Transposed to polymer chemistry, these pioneering results led to the definition of numerous reaction systems leading to the formation of polyesters. Thus AA + BB and AB + AB-type polycondensations as well as lactones and macrolides polymerizations have been achieved in various organic solvents. In this article, the creation of aliphatic, unsaturated and aromatic polyesters is reviewed with a special attention paid to the equilibria between linear chains and rings.

Key Words:

• Aliphatic polyesters
• Unsaturated polyesters
• Aromatic polyesters
• Enzyme
• Lipase
• Ring-chain equilibrium