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Immobilized lipases and their applications. Lipases are able to catalyse the hydrolysis of glyceridic esters in aqueous media and the synthesis of esters in non-aqueous media. They are thus able to catalyse numerous reactions of industrial interest. Whether it is by inclusion, by adsorption or by covalent link, the immobilisation of lipases aims at conferring them a good stability that enables a reuse of the enzymes after a reaction and the development of continuous processes. The reactions of triglycerides hydrolysis constitute main applications for immobilised lipases, however their use in different types of esterification reactions has also arose: there exist processes involving reactions of transesterification, of interesterification or of esters synthesis. The production of structured lipids by interesterification is one example. Although the reaction conditions dissent from those of hydrolysis, the same lipases have been used in both cases. A lipase specifically adapted for esterification though would be a highly capable tool: a series of strategies is in progress in order to reach this goal.

The purpose of this study was to immobilize lipase from Yarrowia lipolytica using three methods including inclusion, adsorption, and covalent bond to study enzyme leaching, storage, and catalytic properties. Sodium alginate and chitosan were the polymers selected to immobilize lipase by inclusion. The beads of each polymer were dried by freeze drying and fluidization. The results show that chitosan was more adapted to the inclusion of lipase. Even though freeze dried, bead activity was low compared to that of fluidized beads. The freeze-drying process seems to produce suitable beads for storage at 4 and 20 degrees C. The immobilization by adsorption was carried out on both celite and silica gel. Maximum immobilization yield of 76% was obtained with celite followed by 43% in silica gel. The enzyme adsorbed on the two supports exhibited greater stability at a certain temperature (50 degrees C) and in no polar solvents (Isooctane, n-heptane, and n-hexane). In addition, the lipase immobilized by covalent bond retained residual activity equitable to 70%. It was demonstrated that the enzyme immobilized by covalent bond showed greater activity (80%) after 5 months of storage.

This work investigated the effects of monopropylene glycol, protease inhibitor, and gamma irradiation on Yarrowia lipolytica lipase stability during storage. Enzyme liquid stabilization was achieved by addition of monopropylene glycol (MPG) at respective concentrations of 50, 75, and 90%, the protease inhibitors (P2714 and P8215) at 0.1%, and the gamma irradiation with 10kGy, 15kGy, and 25kGy doses. The results showed that monopropylene glycol limited the microorganism growth and decreased the enzymatic activity at high concentration (up to 50%), at two temperatures (20 and 4 degrees C). Enzyme stored at 20 degrees C lost its activity by 80% after two months. This loss was attributed to the protease's effect. At this temperature, the protease's activities have been limited by the specific inhibitors. The gamma irradiations improve microbial safety of liquid enzyme.