Synthesis of an Aspartame Precursor Using Immobilized Thermolysin in an Organic Solvent

The synthesis of N-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methylester (Z-APM), a precursor of aspartame, from N-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-L-aspartic acid (Z-Asp) and L-phenylalanine methylester hydrochlolide($L-PM\cdot HCI$) was investigated in a saturated-ethylacetate single phase system using immobilized thermolysin. Among the various supports tested, glyceryl-CPG was found to be most efficient for retaining enzyme activity. The enzyme immobilized onto glyceryl-CPG also showed the highest activity for Z-APM synthesis in saturated ethyl acetate. Z-APM conversion yield in saturated ethylacetate was half of that obtained in an ethyl acetate-buffer two-phase system under the same reaction conditions. However, as the mole ratio of $L-PM \cdot HCI$ to Z-Asp was increased to 4.0, the conversion yield reached 95 %. When continuous synthesis of Z-APM was canied out in a plug flow reactor (PFR) with 80 mM of L-PMㆍHCI and 20 mM of Z-Asp in saturated ethylacetate (pH 5.5), more than 95 % of Z-Asp was converted to Z-APM with a space velocity of 1.16 $hr^{-1} at 40^{\circ}C$. Although the operational stability in PFR was reduced rapidly, more than 80% of initial activity was maintained in CSTR even after a week of operation.