Vitamin E succinate was synthesized in organic solvents using a modified Novozym-435 as catalyst.In order to improve the catalytic performance of Novozym-435

the enzyme was modified using acetic anhydride

propionic anhydride and succinic anhydride separately.We found that both the hydrolytic activity and the thermal stability of the modified Novozym-435 were enhanced compared with the unmodified enzyme.The modified Novozym-435 catalysts were used to synthesize the succinate derivative of vitamin E.Compared with the native Novozym-435

the catalytic activity of the modified novozym-435 in promoting the synthesis of vitamin E succinate was dramatically increased

with the novozym-435 modified with succinic anhydride(N435-S)as the most active catalyst.Conditions for the synthesis of vitamin E succinate were also optimized.A mixture of

tert

-butanol and DMSO(volume ratio of 2:3)was the most suitable medium for the reaction

whereas the appropriate molar ratio of vitamin E to succinic anhydride and reaction temperature were 1:5 and 40℃

respectively.Under these reaction conditions

the yield of vitamin E succinate reached 94.4%.N435-S could be reused for five batches.