Enhancing the synthetic utility of aldolase antibody 38C2

Three-phase partitioning (TPP) treated aldolase antibody 38C2 was evaluated for aldol reaction between p-nitrobenzaldehyde and acetone to give 4-(4′-nitrophenyl)-4-hydroxy-2-butanone. While TPP-treated 38C2 transformed 65% of p-nitrobenzaldehyde, the untreated 38C2 gave only 24% transformation in 18 h at 25 °C. However, since TPP-treated 38C2 also gave an additional (unidentified) product, its synthetic utility was limited. Crosslinked aggregate of 38C2, however, gave the biocatalyst which gave a single product and could be reused at 40 °C five times without loss of activity.