Immobilization of lipases has proved to be a useful technique for improving an enzyme's activity in organic solvents. In the present study, the performance of a silica-immobilized lipase was evaluated for the synthesis of isopropyl ferulate in DMSO. The biocatalyst was cross-linked onto the matrix with 1% glutaraldehyde. The effects of various parameters, molar ratio of ferulic acid to isopropy...

Biodiesel production from vegetable oil has gained attention as an alternative fuel to minimize the usage of fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gases pollution. In Malaysia, oils from local fruit seeds of papaya and rambutan are potential feedstock for biodiesel production due to their high lipid contents and easily available. In the present study, papaya and rambutan seed oils were extracted v...

A new biofuel similar to biodiesel was obtained in the 1,3-selective transesterification reaction of sunflower oil with ethanol using as biocatalyst a Rhizopus oryzae lipase (ROL) immobilized on Sepiolite, an inorganic support. The studied lipase was a low cost powdered enzyme preparation, Biolipase-R, from Biocon-Spain, a multipurpose additive used in food industry. In this respect, it is deve...

In view of the rising global problems of environment pollution and degradation, the present process provides a 'green solution' to the synthesis of higher esters of lubricant range, more specifically in the range C12-C36, using different combinations of acids and alcohols, in a single step reaction. The esters produced are biodegradable in nature and have a plethora of uses, such as in additive...

The immobilization of Candida antarctica lipase type B on activated carbon was studied. Adsorption conditions were investigated in order to improve enzyme activity and stability in organic media. Results showed that biocatalyst activity and recovered activity were improved with increasing concentrations of ammonium sulphate on the supernatant during enzyme adsorption. Hydrophobic interactions w...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the immobilization of lipase on a chitosan support by physical adsorption, aiming at its application in hydrolytic and synthetic reactions. Two types of chitosan (flakes and porous) were used for immobilizing lipase from a microbial source (Candida rugosa) and animal cells (porcine pancreas). The best results for recovery of total activity after immob...

In this paper, the stabilization of a lipase from Bacillus thermocatenulatus (BTL2) by a new strategy is described. First, the lipase is selectively adsorbed on hydrophobic supports. Second, the carboxylic residues of the enzyme are modified with ethylenediamine, generating a new enzyme having 4-fold more amino groups than the native enzyme. The chemical amination did not present a significant ...

Biocatalytic membrane reactors (BMR) combining reaction and separation within the same unit have many advantages over conventional reactor designs. Ceramic membranes are an attractive alternative to polymeric membranes in membrane biotechnology due to their high chemical, thermal and mechanical resistance. Another important use is their potential application in a biphasic membrane system, where...

Candida rugosa lipase immobilized on maghemite nanoparticles demonstrated high stereoselectivity in kinetic resolution of racemic carboxylates and improved long-term stability over its parent free enzyme, allowing the supported enzyme to be repeatedly used for a series of chiral resolution reactions.

BACKGROUND Whole-cell biocatalysis in organic solvents has been widely applied to industrial bioprocesses. In two-phase water-solvent processes, substrate conversion yields and volumetric productivities can be limited by the toxicity of solvents to host cells and by the low mass transfer rates of the substrates from the solvent phase to the whole-cell biocatalysts in water. RESULTS To solve t...