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ExtracellularYarrowia lipolyticalipase Lip2 (YLIP2) demonstrated an (R)-enantiopreference for efficient resolution of (R,S)-1-phenylethanol by solvent engineering with different kinds of binary solvent. The enantioselectivity was significantly improved by the addition of 1, 4-dioxane. The reaction parameters including co-solvent concentration, reaction temperature, and the reaction time were optimized. When the reaction was carried out with n-hexane in the presence of 0.8% 1,4-dioxane at 50°C for 72 h, the enantiomeric excess of product markedly increased to 99.1% from 66% in pure n-hexane; the enantiomeric ratio was higher than 200, which was 500-fold compared with that in pure n-hexane. The results indicated that it is very important to design the proper co-solvents, especially to create appropriate micro-environment for YLIP2 for catalyzing the resolution of (R,S)-1-phenylethanol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A novel lipase-catalyzed synthesis of aliphatic polyesters has been achieved successfully by using Candida sp.99-125 with diethyl sebacate and 1,4-butanediol as starting substrates in absence of organic solvents. The lipase from Candida sp.99-125 was employed for the first time to catalyze synthesis of poly(butylene sebacate) and showed high catalytic activity for bulkpolymerization under mild reaction conditions. The eco-friendly processes, without any environmental pollution, avoided both phase separation of the reactants and the use of toxic solvents effectively. The polycondensation reactions were performed in two stages: first stage reaction under atmospheric pressure to convert the monomers to oligomers followed by second stage reaction under vacuum process, with a highest molecular weight of 15,800 obtained in molar ratio of 1:1 at 70°C. The corresponding polyesters determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were much thermally stable up to 300°C. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXS) analysis demonstrated the polymers had a strong ability to crystallize with the degree of crystallinity up to 66%. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Nonwoven fabrics of polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and viscose fiber were used as novel and inexpensive support membranes for the immobilization of lipase. The use of a co-solvent during the immobilization process improved the activity of the coupled protein and the operational stability of PP and PET membranes. Covalent methods of immobilization caused the support membranes to become fragile and the lipase was easily deactivated. A hydrophobic treatment improved the protein-coupled content of silk cotton, viscose and PET surfaces more than threefold. Viscose prepared with the hydrophobic treatment could be reused up to 44 times and retained a static water contact angle of 131.8°. The initial rate of esterification remained high even when the amount of added water was increased to 10%. In a model application reaction of oleic acid and ethanol with 8% (v/v) added water, the acid conversion rate of post-hydrophobic treated immobilized lipase improved by at least 10% in each of five batches. These results suggest that a hydrophobic surface results in a lower amount of adsorbed water on the support membrane and provides a more suitable microenvironment for the enzymes. Nonwoven viscose could be a potential enzyme immobilization matrix for industrial processes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Glycerol waste from the biodiesel production can be used as a carbon source in the production of 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) through microbial fermentation. However, downstream processing is a major bottleneck that restricts its biological production. Here, we investigated an environmentally-friendly method to enzymatically separate 1,3-PD. The transformation of 1,3-PD to an ester was achieved by exploiting the esterification reaction with fatty acids under lipase catalysis. The reaction efficiency was optimized using different poly-alcohols that were existed in the fermentation broth reacted with a fatty acid. Whereas the 1,3-PD conversion reached 62%, only a 0.06% and 0.08% conversion was reached for 2,3-butanediol and glycerol, illustrating the former’s more efficient separation. The recovery efficiency of 1,3-PD was 96%. Finally, 1,3-PD was obtained by lipase-directed ester hydrolysis. Taken together, the bio-catalyzed separation process presented here is a novel and promising method for recovering 1,3-PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed an improved and effective method to immobilize Yarrowia lipolytica lipase Lip2 (YLIP2) on an epoxy poly-(glycidylmethacrylate-triallyisocyanurate-ethyleneglycoldimethacrylate) (P GMA-TAIC-EGDMA ) support structure with or without amine or/and protein modifications. Our results show that there is an increase in the activity of the immobilized lipase on n-butylamine (BA) modified support (420 U/g support) and the biocompatible gelatin modified support (600 U/g support) when compared to the support without modification (240 U/g support). To further study the influences of BA and gelatin modification on the activity of the immobilized lipase, gelatin and BA were concurrently used to decorate the support structure. Lipase immobilized on 2% BA/gelatin (1:1) modified support obtained the highest activity (1180 U/g support), which was five-fold higher than that on a native support structure. These results suggest that the activity of a support-immobilized lipase depends on the support surface properties and a moderate support surface micro-environment was crucial for elevated activity. Collectively, these data show that a combined gelatin and BA modification regulates the support surface more suitable for immobilizing YLIP2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] A simple, efficient immobilization protocol on polyurethane foam was developed. [•] Polyethyleneimine (PEI) was used to regulate the micro-environment. [•] Immobilized lipase exhibited a long operational stability in esterification system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]