Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Investigation Of The Effects Of Hydrogen Bonding On The Enantiomeric Excess Of Pig Liver Esterase Hydrolysis Products, Matthew Hasler

Honors Theses

Pig Liver Esterase (PLE) is an effective enzyme used in the Masterson Research Group due to its ability to hydrolyze only one ester in a malonic diester. PLE is employed for creating chiral molecules for the synthesis of unnatural amino acid precursors. Previous research in the group found that malonic half esters with hydrogen bonding capable substrates yielded varying degrees of enantiomeric excess, and non-hydrogen bonding substrates yielded racemic mixtures.1,2 The compounds synthesized contained substrates consisting of thiophene rings in the second and third position, and these molecules act as a control for the other research done in the group. …