Two step ethanolysis: A simple and efficient way to improve the enzymatic biodiesel synthesis catalyzed by an immobilized–stabilized lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus

In this study the immobilization and stabilization of a lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus (TLL) on aldehyde-Lewatit (Lew-TLL) are described. TLL immobilization was rapid and over 90% of lipase activity was recovered after the immobilization. Lew-TLL was 10-fold more thermo stable than the commercial TLL preparation, Lipozyme TL-IM. The stabilized Lew-TLL was used for the enzymatic transesterification of ethanol and soybean oil. The transesterification was carried out following different strategies. First, with 7.5:1 molar ratio of ethanol:soybean oil, 15% immobilized enzyme and 4% water at 30 °C. In the presence of n-hexane, the transesterification reached 100% conversion, while in solvent-free system the yield was 75%. Second, at stoichiometric molar ratio, the yield was 70% conversion after 10 h of reaction in both systems. After this, transesterification was carried out by three stepwise additions of ethanol with a yield of 80% conversion, while a two step ethanolysis produced 100% conversion after 10 h of reaction in both solvent and solvent-free systems.     

Immobilization of lipase in organic solvent in the presence of fatty acid additives

In this study porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL) was covalently immobilized on cross-linked polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) in organic media in the presence of fatty acid additives in order to improve its immobilized activity. The effects of fatty acid additions to the immobilization media were investigated choosing tributyrin hydrolysis in water and ester synthesis by immobilized PPL in n-hexane. Various fatty acids which are also the substrates of lipases in esterification reactions were used as active site protecting agents during the immobilization process in an organic solvent. The obtained results showed that covalent immobilization carried out in the presence of fatty acids as protective ligands improved the hydrolytic and esterification activity of immobilized enzyme. A remarkable increase in activity of the immobilized PPL was obtained when octanoic acid was used as an additive and the hydrolytic activity was increased from 5.2 to 19.2 μmol min⁻¹ mg⁻¹ as compared to the non-additive immobilization method. With the increase of hydrolytic activity of immobilized lipase in the presence of octanoic acid, in an analogous manner, the rate of esterification for the synthesis of butyl octanoate was also increased from 7.3 to 26.3 μmol min⁻¹ g⁻¹ immobilized protein using controlled thermodynamic water activities with saturated salt solutions. In addition, the immobilized PPL activity was maintained at levels representing 63% of its original activity value after 5 repeated uses. The proposed method could be adopted for a wide variety of other enzymes which have highly soluble substrates in organic solvent such as other lipases and esterases.     

Preparation of a biocatalyst via physical adsorption of lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus on hydrophobic support to catalyze biolubricant synthesis by esterification reaction in a solvent-free system

Lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus (TLL) was immobilized on mesoporous hydrophobic poly-methacrylate (PMA) particles via physical adsorption (interfacial activation of the enzyme on the support). The influence of initial protein loading (5–200 mg/g of support) on the catalytic properties of the biocatalysts was determined in the hydrolysis of olive oil emulsion and synthesis of isoamyl oleate (biolubricant) by esterification reaction. Maximum adsorbed protein loading and hydrolytic activity were respectively ≈100 mg/g and ≈650 IU/g using protein loading of 150 mg/g of support. The adsorption process followed the Langmuir isotherm model (R² = 0.9743). Maximum ester conversion around 85% was reached after 30 min of reaction under continuous agitation (200 rpm) using 2500 mM of each reactant in a solvent-free system, 45 °C, 20% m/v of the biocatalyst prepared using 100 mg of protein/g of support. Apparent thermodynamic parameters of the esterification reaction were also determined. Under optimal experimental conditions, reusability tests of the biocatalyst (TLL-PMA) after thirty successive cycles of reaction were performed. TLL-PMA fully retained its initial activity up to twenty two cycles of reaction, followed by a slight decrease around 8.6%. The nature of the product (isoamyl oleate) was confirmed by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), proton (¹H NMR) and carbon (¹³C NMR) nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy analyses.     

Amino silicones finished fabrics for lipase immobilization: Fabrics finishing and catalytic performance of immobilized lipase

Finishing of silk fabric was achieved by using amino-functional polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and lipase from Candida sp. 99-125 was immobilized on the treated silk fabrics. Hydrophobic fabrics were obtained by dipping the native fabric in 0.125–0.25% (w/v) PDMS solution and dried at 70 °C. The direct adsorption on PDMS-treated fabric was verified to be a better strategy for lipase immobilization than that by covalent binding. Compared to unfinished fabrics, the hydrolytic activity of immobilized enzyme on the finished fabric was improved by 1.6 times. Moreover, the activity of immobilized enzymes on hydrophobic fabrics was significantly improved in different concentrations of strong polar solvents such as methanol and ethanol, and in common organic solvents with different octanol–water partition coefficients (Log P). Enzymatic activity and stability in 15% water content system (added water accounted for the total reaction mixtures, v/v) showed more than 30% improvement in each batch. The amino–silicone finished fabric surface was investigated by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The hydrophobic fabric immobilized enzyme could be recycled for more than 80 times with no significant decrease in esterification activity. PDMS-treated woven silk fabrics could be a potential support for lipase immobilization in catalytic esterification processes.     

Immobilization of porcine pancreatic lipase on poly-hydroxybutyrate particles for the production of ethyl esters from macaw palm oils and pineapple flavor

Poly-hydroxybutyrate particles (PHB) were used as support to immobilize porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL). The biocatalysts prepared were tested in the synthesis of pineapple flavor by esterification of butanol and butyric acid in heptane medium, and in the synthesis of ethyl esters by transesterification of macaw palm pulp (MPPO) and macaw palm kernel (MPKO) oils with ethanol in solvent-free systems. The effect of protein loading on the biocatalyst activity was assessed in olive oil hydrolysis. Maximum hydrolytic activity of 292.8 ± 8.60 IU/g was observed. Langmuir isotherm model was applicable to the adsorption of PPL on PHB particles. Maximum immobilized protein amount was 24.3 ± 1.70 mg/g. The optimal pH and temperature in hydrolysis reaction for the immobilized PPL were at pH 8.5 and 50 °C, while for the crude PPL extract were at pH 8.0 and 45 °C. Immobilized PPL exhibited full hydrolytic activity after 2 h of incubation in non-polar solvents. In esterification reaction, optimal conversion was around 93% after 2 h of reaction. After six esterification cycles, the biocatalyst retained 63% of its initial activity. The biocatalyst prepared attained transesterification yield of 50% after 48 h of reaction for MPKO and 35% after 96 h of reaction for MPPO.     

Characterization and optimization of β-galactosidase immobilization process on a mixed-matrix membrane

β-Galactosidase is an important enzyme catalyzing not only the hydrolysis of lactose to the monosaccharides glucose and galactose but also the transgalactosylation reaction to produce galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS). In this study, β-galactosidase was immobilized by adsorption on a mixed-matrix membrane containing zirconium dioxide. The maximum β-galactosidase adsorbed on these membranes was 1.6 g/m², however, maximal activity was achieved at an enzyme concentration of around 0.5 g/m². The tests conducted to investigate the optimal immobilization parameters suggested that higher immobilization can be achieved under extreme parameters (pH and temperature) but the activity was not retained at such extreme operational parameters. The investigations on immobilized enzymes indicated that no real shift occurred in its optimal temperature after immobilization though the activity in case of immobilized enzyme was better retained at lower temperature (5 °C). A shift of 0.5 unit was observed in optimal pH after immobilization (pH 6.5 to 7). Perhaps the most striking results are the kinetic parameters of the immobilized enzyme; while the Michaelis constant (K_m) value increased almost eight times compared to the free enzyme, the maximum enzyme velocity (V_max) remained almost constant.     

Esterification activity and stability of Talaromyces thermophilus lipase immobilized onto chitosan

The Talaromyces thermophilus lipase (TTL) was immobilized by different methods namely adsorption, ionic binding and covalent coupling, using various carriers. Chitosan, pre-treated with glutaraldehyde, was selected as the most suitable support material preserving the catalytic activity almost intact and offering maximum immobilization capacity (76% and 91%, respectively). The chitosan-immobilized lipase could be reputably used for ten cycles with more than 80% of its initial hydrolytic activity. Shift in the optimal temperature from 50 to 60 °C and in the pH from 9.5 to 10, were observed for the immobilized lipase when compared to the free enzyme.The catalytic esterification of oleic acid with 1-butanol has been carried out using hexane as organic solvent. A high performance synthesis of 1-butyl oleate was obtained (95% of conversion yield) at 60 °C with a molar ratio of 1:1 oleic acid to butanol and using 100 U (0.2 g) of immobilized lipase. The esterification product is analysed by GC/MS to confirm the conversion percentage calculated by titration.     

Laccase immobilization on mesostructured cellular foams affords preparations with ultra high activity

Extracellular laccase produced by the wood-rotting fungus Cerrena unicolor was immobilized covalently on the mesostructured siliceous cellular foams (MCFs) functionalised using various organosilanes with amine and glycidyl groups. The experiments indicated that laccase bound via glutaraldehyde to MCFs modified using 2-aminoethyl-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane remains very active. In the best biocatalyst activity was about 42,700 U mL^?1 carrier (66,800 U mg^?1 bound protein), and hence significantly higher than ever reported before. Optimisation of the immobilization procedure with respect to protein concentration, pH of coupling mixture and the enzyme purity afforded the biocatalyst with activity of about 90,980 U mL^?1. For the best preparation, thermal- and pH-stability, and activity profiles were determined. Experiments carried out in a batch reactor showed that k_cat/K_m for immobilized enzyme (0.88 min^?1 μM^?1) was acceptable lower than the value obtained for the native enzyme (2.19 min^?1 μM^?1). Finally, potentials of the catalysts were tested in the decolourisation of indigo carmine without redox-mediators. Seven consecutive runs with the catalysts separated by microfiltration proved that adsorption of the dye onto the carrier and enzymatic oxidation contribute to the efficient decolourisation without loss of immobilized enzyme activity.     

Electrostatic immobilization of pectinase on negatively charged AOT-Fe3O4 nanoparticles

Enzyme immobilization on magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) has been a field of intense studies in biotechnology during the past decade. The present study suggests MNPs negatively charged by docusate sodium salt (AOT) as a support for pectinase immobilization. AOT is a biocompatible anionic surfactant which can stabilize MNPs. Electrostatic adsorption can occur between enzyme with positive charge and oppositely charged surface of MNPs (ca. 100 nm). The effect of three factors, i.e. initial enzyme concentration, aqueous pH and AOT concentration in different levels was investigated on pectinase immobilization. Maximum specific activity (1.98 U/mg enzyme) of immobilized pectinase and maximum enzyme loading of 610.5 mg enzyme/g support was attained through the experiments. Initial enzyme concentration is significantly important on both loading and activity of immobilized enzyme, while pH and AOT concentration only affect the amount of immobilized enzyme. Immobilized enzyme on MNPs was recovered easily through magnetic separation. At near pH of immobilization, protein leakage in reusability of immobilized enzyme was low and activity loss was only 10–20% after six cycles. Since pH is associated with immobilization by electrostatic adsorption, the medium pH was changed to improve the release of protein from the support, as well. MNPs properties were investigated using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) analysis.     

Immobilization of a keratinolytic protease from Purpureocillium lilacinum on genipin activated-chitosan beads

Keratinase from Purpureocillium lilacinum LPSC # 876 was immobilized on chitosan beads using two different cross-linking agents: glutaraldehyde and genipin. For its immobilization certain parameters were optimized such as cross-linker concentration, activation time and activation temperature. Under optimum conditions, enzyme immobilization resulted to be 96 and 92.8% for glutaraldehyde and genipin, respectively, with an activity recovery reaching up to 81% when genipin was used. The immobilized keratinase showed better thermal and pH stabilities compared to the soluble form, retaining more than 85% of its activity at pH 11 and 74% at 50 °C after 1 h of incubation. The residual activity of immobilized keratinase remained more than 60% of its initial value after five hydrolytic cycles. The results in this study support that glutaraldehyde could be replaced by genipin as an alternative cross-linking eco-friendly agent for enzyme immobilization.     

Catechol modification and covalent immobilization of catalase on titania submicrospheres

In this article, chemical modification with catecholic derivative in solution and subsequent immobilization of catalase (CAT) on titania submicrospheres (450–500 nm) were described. Catalase was first reacted with 3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) propionic acid activated via 1-ethyl-3-[3-dimethylaminopropyl] carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) coupling chemistry. The above chemically modified CAT bearing catechol groups was then covalently bound to the surface of titania through the facile chelation reaction between the catechol groups and titania. The immobilized CAT retained 60% catalytic activity with a high loading capacity of 500 mg/g titania. Meanwhile, the immobilized CAT displayed enhanced operational stability, thermal stability and storage stability compared with native, modified CAT counterparts. In repeated batches of decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, after 10 and 19 cycles, the immobilized CAT maintained about 90% and 75% of its initial activity, respectively.     

Enhancing performance of lipase immobilized on methyl-modified silica aerogels at the adsorption and catalysis processes: Effect of cosolvents

Hydrophobic silica aerogels modified with methyl group were applied as support to immobilize Candida rugosa lipase (CRL). At the adsorption process, different alcohols were used to intensify the immobilization of CRL. The results showed that n-butanol wetting the hydrophobic support prior to contacting with enzyme solution could promote lipase activity, but the adsorption quantity onto the support decreased. Based on this, a novel immobilization method was proposed: the support contacted with enzyme solution without any alcohols, and then the immobilized enzymes were activated by 90% (V) n-butanol solution. The experimental results showed that this method could keep high adsorption quantity (413.0 mg protein/g support) and increase the lipase specific activity by more than 50%. To improve the stability of immobilized lipase, the support after adsorption was contacted with n-octane to form an oil layer covering the immobilized lipases, thus the leakage can be decreased from over 30–4% within 24 h. By utilizing proper cosolvents, a high enzyme activity and loading capacity as well as little loss of lipase was achieved without covalent linkage between the lipase and the support. This is known to be an excellent result for immobilization achieved by physical adsorption only.     

Improving the activity and stability of Yarrowia lipolytica lipase Lip2 by immobilization on polyethyleneimine-coated polyurethane foam

In this study, polyurethane foam (PUF) was used for immobilization of Yarrowia lipolytica lipase Lip2 via polyethyleneimine (PEI) coating and glutaraldehyde (GA) coupling. The activity of immobilized lipases was found to depend upon the size of the PEI polymers and the way of GA treatment, with best results obtained for covalent-bind enzyme on glutaraldehyde activated PEI-PUF (MW 70,000 Da), which was 1.7 time greater activity compared to the same enzyme immobilized without PEI and GA. Kinetic analysis shows the hydrolytic activity of both free and immobilized lipases on triolein substrate can be described by Michaelis–Menten model. The K_m for the immobilized and free lipases on PEI-coated PUF was 58.9 and 9.73 mM, respectively. The V_max values of free and immobilized enzymes on PEI-coated PUF were calculated as 102 and 48.6 U/mg enzyme, respectively. Thermal stability for the immobilization preparations was enhanced compared with that for free preparations. At 50 °C, the free enzyme lost most of its initial activity after a 30 min of heat treatment, while the immobilized enzymes showed significant resistance to thermal inactivation (retaining about 70% of its initial activity). Finally, the immobilized lipase was used for the production of lauryl laurate in hexane medium. Lipase immobilization on the PEI support exhibited a significantly improved operational stability in esterification system. After re-use in 30 successive batches, a high ester yield (88%) was maintained. These results indicate that PEI, a polymeric bed, could not only bridge support and immobilized enzymes but also create a favorable micro-environment for lipase. This study provides a simple, efficient protocol for the immobilization of Y. lipolytica lipase Lip2 using PUF as a cheap and effective material.     

Reversible immobilization of catalase on fibrous polymer grafted and metal chelated chitosan membrane

Poly(itaconic acid) grafted and/or Fe(III) ions incorporated chitosan membranes were used for reversible immobilization of catalase (from bovine liver) via adsorption. The influences of pH and initial catalase concentration on the immobilization capacities of the CH-g-poly(IA) and CH-g-poly(IA)-Fe(III) membranes have been investigated in a batch system. Maximum catalase adsorption onto CH-g-poly(IA) and CH-g-poly(IA)-Fe(III) membrane were found to be 6.3 and 37.8 mg/g polymer at pH 5.0 and 6.5, respectively. The CH-g-poly(IA)-Fe(III) membrane with high catalase adsorption capacity was used in the rest of the study. The K_m value for immobilized catalase on CH-g-poly(IA)-Fe(III) (25.8 mM) was higher about 1.6-fold than that of free enzyme (13.5 mM). Optimum operational temperature was observed at 40 °C, a 5 °C higher than that of the free enzyme and was significantly broader. The optimum operational pH was same for both free and immobilized catalase (pH 7.0). Thermal stability was found to increase with immobilization. Free catalase lost all its activity within 20 days whereas immobilized catalase lost 23% of its activity during the same incubation period. It was observed that the same support enzyme can be repeatedly used for immobilization of catalase after regeneration without significant loss in adsorption capacity or enzyme activity. In addition, the CH-g-poly(IA)-Fe(III) membrane prepared in this work showed promising potential for various biotechnological applications.     

Graft copolymerization of acrylamide on chitosan-co-chitin and its application for immobilization of Aspergillus sp. RL2Ct cutinase

The synthesis of chitosan (Chs) and chitin (Chi) copolymer and grafting of acrylamide (AAm) onto the synthesized copolymer have been carried out by chemical methods. The grafted copolymer was characterized by FTIR, SEM and XRD. The extracellular cutinase of Aspergillus sp. RL2Ct (E.C. 3.1.1.3) was purified to 4.46 fold with 16.1% yield using acetone precipitation and DEAE sepharose ion exchange chromatography. It was immobilized by adsorption on the grafted copolymer. The immobilized enzyme was found to be more stable then the free enzyme and has a good binding efficiency (78.8%) with the grafted copolymer. The kinetic parameters K_M and V_max for free and immobilized cutinase were found to be 0.55 mM and 1410 μmol min⁻¹ mg⁻¹ protein, 2.99 mM and 996 μmol min⁻¹ mg⁻¹ protein, respectively. The immobilized cutinase was recycled 64 times without considerable loss of activity. The matrix (Chs-co-Chi-g-poly(AAm)) prepared and cutinase immobilized on the matrix have potential applications in enzyme immobilization and organic synthesis respectively.     

Efficient decolorization of an anthraquinone dye by recombinant dye-decolorizing peroxidase (rDyP) immobilized in silica-based mesocellular foam

A recombinant dye-decolorizing peroxidase (rDyP) produced from Aspergillus oryzae was immobilized in synthesized silica-based mesocellular foam (MCF: average pore size 25 nm) and used for decolorization of the anthraquinone dye, Remazol Brilliant Blue R (RBBR). The adsorption yields of rDyP immobilized in MCF increased as the pH decreased from 6 to 3. However, the activity yields of the immobilized rDyP decreased with decreasing pH. The overall efficiency, defined as adsorption yield × activity yield, reached its maximum of 83% at pH 5. In repeated dye-decolorization tests, 20 batches of RBBR could be decolorized by the MCF-immobilized rDyP. MCF showed significantly better performance for rDyP immobilization in term of retaining enzyme activity and dye-decolorization ability compared to previous studies using other mesoporous materials.     

Immobilization of apricot pectinesterase (Prunus armeniaca L.) on porous glass beads and its characterization

Pectinesterase isolated from Malatya apricot pulp was covalently immobilized onto glutaraldehyde-containing amino group functionalized porous glass beads surface by chemical immobilization at pH 8.0. The amount of covalently bound apricot PE was found 1.721 mg/g glass support. The properties of immobilized enzyme were investigated and compared to those of free enzyme. The effect of various parameters such as pH, temperature, activation energy, heat and storage stability on immobilized enzyme were investigated. Optimum pH and temperature were determined to be 8.0 and 50 °C, respectively. The immobilized PE exhibited better thermostability than the free one. Kinetic parameters of the immobilized enzyme (K_m and V_max values) were also evaluated. The K_m was 0.71 mM and the V_max was 0.64 μmol min^?1 mg^?1. No drastic change was observed in the K_m and V_max values. The patterns of heat stability indicated that the immobilization process tends to stabilize the enzyme. Thermal and storage stability experiments were also carried out. It was observed that the immobilized enzyme had longer storage stability and retained 50% of its initial activity during 30 days.     

Immobilization of cellulase on polyamidoamine dendrimer-grafted silica

Polyamidoamine dendrimer (PAMAM) is one of a number of dendritic polymers with precise molecular structure, highly geometric symmetry, and a large number of terminal groups, and is suitable to carry biomolecules due to its affinity and biocompatibility. In this study, PAMAM was grafted onto the surface of silica by microwave irradiation. A novel media was developed through immobilizing cellulase onto the prepared PAMAM-grafted silica by adsorption and crosslinking methods and applied in hydrolysis of carboxymethyl cellulose. The results demonstrate that the enzyme binding capacity and enzymolysis efficiency increased with generations of PAMAM. The properties of the immobilized cellulase-PAMAM-grafted silica were investigated, which possessed high enzymatic activity and exhibited better stability with respect to pH, temperature compared with free enzyme. The optimal immobilization conditions for adsorption and crosslinking method were respectively obtained at 5 and 4 mg ml⁻¹ cellulase for 2 h of immobilization. A high enzymolysis efficiency was achieved by employing pH 4.8 and 5.8 substrate solution at 60 °C for adsorbed and crosslinked cellulase, respectively. After repeated three run cycles, the retained activities were found to be 75% and 82%. The results indicate that the PAMAM has a good performance as a carrier, and can be potentially adapted to support other biomacromolecules.     

Improved yield and stability of amylase by multipoint covalent binding on polyglutaraldehyde activated chitosan beads: Activation of denatured enzyme molecules by calcium ions

In this study raw starch digesting amylase (RSDA) from Aspergillus carbonarius (Bainier) Thom IMI 366159 was stabilized by covalent binding on polyglutaraldehyde (PG), glutaraldehyde (G) activated chitosan beads or post immobilization cross linking of enzyme adsorbed on chitosan. Presence of Ca²⁺ ions (0.5–1.5 mM) activated the PG and G derivatives but repressed the crosslinked enzyme. Optimum pH for cross linked derivative increased by 2 units but was unaltered for PG and G derivatives. Immobilized amylase exhibited improved thermal and storage stability. Immobilized derivatives had no loss of activity after 1 month storage and retained above 90% activity after 10 batch reactions of 60 min each. Immobilization successfully stabilized RSDA and immobilized enzyme from A. carbonarius can be applied in numerous industries for cheap, cost effective and environmentally friendly starch hydrolytic processes to simple sugars.     

Active biocatalysts based on Candida rugosa lipase immobilized in vesicular silica

Vesicular silica (VS) with hierarchical structure was prepared by utilizing cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as the structure directing agents, and 1,3,5-triisopropylbenzene (TIPB) as the micelle expander. The resulting unilamellar and multilamellar VS with interlamellar mean mesopore size of 15–20 nm and shell thickness of 5–15 nm were used as supports for immobilization of Candida rugosa lipase (CRL) through physical adsorption. Possible mechanisms for the formation of VS and the immobilization of CRL on VS are proposed. N₂ adsorption-desorption experiments and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) measurements demonstrated that CRL was adsorbed into the curved channels of the VS. The catalytic activity, thermal stability, and reusability of VS immobilized CRL were assayed in phosphate buffer medium by hydrolysis of triacetin. The effects of pH and temperature on enzyme activity were also investigated. We report that VS immobilized CRL exhibited outstanding adaptability at higher pH and temperature, and excellent thermal stability and reusability compared with free CRL.