Abstract: The stereoselective hydrolysis of racemic glycidyl esters catalyzed by lipase in a biphasic system was studied. The results show that porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL) shows a high enantioselectivity towards glycidyl butyrate. The results also show (1) the optimal pH value was 7.6, (2) the optimal reaction t emperature was 27 ℃ and (3) the optimal reaction time was 4 h. Under all above optimal conditions, R-glycidyl butyrate with more than 93.3%　ee was pre pared and the hydrolysis degree of racemic glycidyl butyrate was 60.6%.

Key words: glycidyl ester, resolution, lipase, hydrolysis