Objective The present report describes the enzymatic acylation of umbelliferone with different vinyl esters as acyl donors biocatalyzed by the commercial lipase Novozym (R) 435, and the investigation for their antibacterial activity against ATCC and clinical strains isolated from hospital infection sites. Results The umbelliferone esters (1-5) were synthesized through the acylation reaction of 7-hydroxy-2H-chromen-2-one with different long chain vinyl esters catalyzed by the lipase Novozym 435. The reaction conditions were: 10% Novozym 435; tetrahydrofuran:acetone (3:1) for the reactions with acetate, propionate and butyrate vinyl esters 50-90% conversion, and (9:1) for decanoate and laurate vinyl esters 10-15% conversion; acyl donor/umbelliferone molar ratio of 10:1 and 60 degrees C. All the umbelliferone esters were characterized NMR and (HRMS). The antibacterial activity of the products were tested using the broth microdilution method in order to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The results displayed by 7-laurate and 7-decanoate-umbelliferone esters showed the highest antibacterial potential, with 1 mM inhibitory activity for ATCC 33591, a methicillin and oxacillin resistantStaphylococcus aureusstrain. They were also able to inhibit gram-negative bacterial strains, such asPseudomonas aeruginosa(MIC 0.5 mM) andKlebsiella pneumoniae(MIC 1 mM). In addition, 7-laurate- and 7-decanoate-umbelliferone esters were able to inhibit all clinical strains (MIC 1 mM; except 7-laurate-umbelliferone in which MIC 0.5 mM against 55a). Conclusions This is the first study performing the biocatalysis of umbelliferone followed by the purification of the products and the antibacterial evaluation.