Candida rugosa lipase (CRL) was immobilized on Amberlite XAD 7 and the advantage of immobilization under the best reaction conditions in achieving high activity and enantioselectivity was shown for the hydrolysis of racemic Naproxen methyl ester. The performance of CRL was found to be better when the enzyme was immobilized at the temperature and pH values where higher conversion and enantioselectivity were obtained. The effects of immobilized lipase load, temperature, pH and substrate concentration on the conversion and enantioselectivity toward S-Naproxen production in aqueous phase/isooctane biphasic batch system were also evaluated. The increase in immobilized lipase load in 320-800 U/mL range increased the conversion of the substrate and enantioselectivity for S-Naproxen. The kinetic resolution of racemic Naproxen methyl ester conducted at the temperatures of 40, 45 and 50 degrees C and at the pH values of 4, 6, 7.5 and 9 resulted in the highest conversion and enantioselectivity at 45 degrees C and pH 6. Higher concentration of racemic Naproxen methyl ester than 10 mg/mL decreased both the conversion and enantioselectivity. CRL, which was immobilized at the temperature and pH values where the enzyme was more enantioselective, was successfully used in three successive batch runs each of 180 h. The highest enantiomeric ratio achieved in the S-Naproxen production was 174.2 with the conversion of 49%. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.