A sensitive colorimetric high-throughput screening method for lipase synthetic activity assay

A sensitive and practical high-throughput screening method for assaying lipase synthetic activity is described. Lipase-catalyzed transesterification between vinyl acetate and n-butanol in n-hexane was chosen as a model reaction. The released acetaldehyde was determined by the colorimetric method using 3-methyl-2-benzothialinone (MBTH) derivatization. In comparison with other methods, the major advantages of this process include high sensitivity, simple detection, inexpensive reagents, and low requirements for instruments.