This study investigated the feasibility of improving the stereospecificity of yeast by the adjustment of the culture medium composition and the reaction conditions. The investigation was performed systematically, using an approach that integrates the Taguchi's array method and the steepest ascent method. The reaction yield and the product's ee were the two indexes of reaction performance. A desirability function was applied to combine these two indexes as a single objective function. The removal of peptone and malt extract from the YM medium increased the yeast's stereoselectivity, without reducing the production of biomass. The medium composition and the reaction conditions were then simultaneously optimized. The resulting optimal conditions were 30 g/l glucose for cultivation, 12 g/l yeast extract, a cultivation time of 12 h, 15 g/l glucose for reaction, 150 g/l yeast for reaction, a reaction buffer concentration of 0.2 M and a buffer pH of 8.5. Compared to the one before this study, the product's ee was improved from 82.1 to 92.3%, and the reaction yield was enhanced from 77.3 to 82.3%. Furthermore, the biomass production was increased considerably from 5.94 to 10.14 g DCW/l. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.