Immobilized animal liver microsomes: A versatile tool for efficient ester hydrolysis in chemo-enzymatic synthesis

Abstract

Animal liver microsomes are a rich source of carboxylesterases with potential for biocatalytic applications. However, their instability and difficulty in reuse limit their practical application. This study investigates the immobilization of animal liver microsomes from four species Mus musculus (house mouse), Sus scrofa (wild boar), Dama dama (fallow deer), and Capreolus capreolus (roe deer) on Perloza MG microparticles for enhanced stability and reusability. Immobilization significantly improved the stability and pH tolerance of the microsomes, particularly those from D. dama, maintaining esterase activity across a broad pH range (5–9) and enabling the reusability over ten consecutive cycles. The immobilized D. dama microsomes were successfully employed in a preparative-scale chemo-enzymatic synthesis of a cyclophilin D inhibitor, achieving a total reaction yield of 68% with 98% final product purity, demonstrating their potential for sustainable organic synthesis.