Recent developments in lipase-catalyzed synthesis of polyesters.

Polyester synthesis by lipase catalyst involves two major polymerization modes: i) ring-opening polymerization of lactones, and, ii) polycondensation. Ring-opening polymerization includes the finding of lipase catalyst; scope of reactions; polymerization mechanism; ring-opening polymerization reactivity of lactones; enantio-, chemo- and regio-selective polymerizations; and, chemoenzymatic polymerizations. Polycondensation includes polymerizations involving condensation reactions between carboxylic acid and alcohol functional groups to form an ester bond. In most cases, a carboxylic acid group is activated as an ester form, such as a vinyl ester. Many recently developed polymerizations demonstrate lipase catalysis specific to enzymatic polymerization and appear very useful. Also, since lipase-catalyzed polyester synthesis provides a good opportunity for conducting "green polymer chemistry", the importance of this is described.