Biocatalytic Silylation: The Condensation of Phenols and Alcohols with Triethylsilanol
, Billie Lias 1,2, Rehana Sung 1, Stephanie A. Caslin 1,2, S. Yasin Tabatabaei Dakhili 1,2, Peter G. Taylor 3, Peter Quayle 2 and Lu Shin Wong 1,2,*Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Please see attached document for associated edits and comments.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
In their submission to Catalysts entitled "Biocatalytic Silylation: The Condensation of Phenols and Alcohols with Triethylsilanol", Sparkes et al. describe an interesting methodology of condensation of alcohols with triethylsilanol catalyzed by the enzyme Silicatein-α. This enzyme catalyzed the triethylsilylation of various substituted phenols an aliphatic alcohols for a reaction time of 72 h. Reaction conditions were also optimized and best results were obtained in when using non-polar solvents, particullarly a mixtrure of 1,4-dioxane and n-octane. The paper is well written and conclusions are supported by experimental evidences. This manuscript is of interest of the readership of Catalysts and deserved to be published as a an Article. Therefore, I would suggest accepting this paper after having taken into account the following points:
1) A kinetic study using a phenol and an aliphatic alcohol needs to be included.
2) As the enzyme shows a preference for phenols, a competition experiment with a phenol and an aliphatic alcohol should be interesting.
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
The authors have addressed some of th comments proposed by the reviewers and the manuscript can be accepted at this stage.
