A Novel Tea-Bag Methodology for Enzymatic Resolutions of α-Amino Acid Derivatives in Reverse Micellar Media

A novel tea bag methodology for resolution of methyl esters of N-acetyl-α-amino acids in reverse micellar medium of bis (2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate sodium salt (AOT) in isooctane-chloroform using immobilized enzymes or microbial cells is presented. The methodology effectively solves the problems of substrate solubility, product separation and surfactant recycling and provides products in high yields (80 to 90%) and excellent optical purities (% ee 97 to >99%).