Practical synthesis of 1,3-oleoyl 2-docosahexaenoylglycerol by lipase-catalyzed reactions: An evaluation of different reaction routes

Three new synthetic routes were critically evaluated for the lipase-catalyzed production of 1,3-oleoyl-2 docosahexaenoylglycerol (ODO) in relatively large-scale (approximately 200 g). First, the production of 1,3-diolein by the reaction of glycerol and oleic acid followed by incorporation of docosahexaenoic (DHA) ethyl ester at the sn-2 position was studied. 1,3-Diolein was produced in 68.3% and 84.6% yield when stoichiometric amounts of the substrates were reacted at 25 °C for 8 h in the presence of 10% Novozym 435 and Lipozyme RM IM, respectively. Further increase in reaction temperature and time led to decrease in the 1,3-diolein yield. However, only a 9.4% yield of triacylglycerol was obtained in the subsequent reaction step when the 1,3-diolein was reacted with DHA ethyl ester in the presence of Novozym 435. Secondly, the feasibility of direct acidolysis was studied. Acidolysis of single cell oil (SCO) in excess oleic acid using Novozym 435 as the catalyst occurred twice as fast in solvent (tert-butanol) compared to a solvent-free system, and 63% oleic acid was incorporated into SCO. However, the regio-isomeric purity of the product was poor. Finally, the ethanolysis of SCO to produce DHA-enriched 2-monoacylglycerol followed by esterification with oleic acid or ethyl oleate was investigated. ODO was obtained in 50.9% regio-purity by Lipozyme RM IM-catalyzed esterification. The latter method was the most feasible for preparing ODO in large-scale. This synthetic route could be adapted for related triacylglycerols containing highly polyunsaturated when their productions in large-scale and high regio-purity are required.     

Ultrasonic irradiation with vibration for biodiesel production from soybean oil by Novozym 435

The production of biodiesel with soybean oil and methanol through transesterification by Novozym 435 (Candida antarctica lipase B immobilized on polyacrylic resin) were conducted under two different conditions—ultrasonic irradiation and vibration to compare their overall effects. Compared with vibration, ultrasonic irradiation significantly enhanced the activity of Novozym 435. The reaction rate was further increased under the condition of ultrasonic irradiation with vibration (UIV). Effects of reaction conditions, such as ultrasonic power, water content, organic solvents, ratio of solvent/oil, ratio of methanol/oil, enzyme dosage and temperature on the activity of Novozym 435 were investigated under UIV. Under the optimum conditions (50% of ultrasonic power, 50 rpm vibration, water content of 0.5%, tert-amyl alcohol/oil volume ratio of 1:1, methanol/oil molar ratio of 6:1, 6% Novozym 435 and 40 °C), 96% yield of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) could be achieved in 4 h. Furthermore, repeated use of Novozym 435 after five cycles showed no obvious loss in enzyme activity, which suggested this enzyme was stable under the UIV condition. These results indicated that UIV was a fast and efficient method for biodiesel production.     

Continuous lipase-catalyzed production of esters from crude high-oleic sunflower oil

The objective of this work was to develop an economically relevant enzymatic process of butyl ester production using crude high-oleic sunflower oil. Novozym 435, a non-regiospecific biocatalyst, provided the best compromise between activity and butyl-ester yield. The inhibition caused by the presence of phopholipids in crude oil was eliminated by using tert-butanol. It demonstrates the key role of the medium polarity in order to insure the stability of a process. Initial substrate concentrations and their molar ratio were optimized in a continuous packed-bed reactor to maximize product yield and productivity. The best compromise was obtained for an initial oil concentration of 500 mM and a molar ratio of 5. It enabled a high productivity of 13.8 tons year⁻¹ kg Novozym 435⁻¹ with a butyl-ester purity of 96.5% to be obtained. Experiments with the continuous reactor were performed over 50 days without any loss of enzyme activity.     

Omega-3 fatty acids concentrate production by enzyme-catalyzed ethanolysis of supercritical CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> extracted oyster oil

The separation of oil by a suitable technique from the Pacific oyster muscle is important for the utilization of the oil as a ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) source and production of bio-functional peptides/ oligosaccharides from oil-free residue. This study was conducted to prepare ω-3 PUFAs concentrate from supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) extracted Pacific oyster oil by enzyme-catalyzed ethanolysis reactions. SC-CO₂ extractions were done at different temperatures and pressures to optimize suitable extraction conditions and extracted oils were compared with Soxhlet (n-hexane) extracted oil to evaluate the yield and quality. Oil extracted by SC-CO₂ at optimized conditions was used for ethanolysis reaction catalyzed by immobilized sn-1,3 specific lipases, namely Novozymes-435, Lipozyme TLIM, and Lipozyme RMIM to produce 2-monoacylglycerols (2-MAG) rich in ω-3 PUFAs. The optimum temperature and pressure for SC-CO₂ extractions of oyster oil was 50°C and 30 MPa. In this condition, the yield of oil was 5.96% and the acid, peroxide, free fatty acid, and p-anisidine values were 4.49 mg KOH/g, 4.72 meq/kg, 3.42%, and 10.03, respectively. The ω-3 PUFAs content significantly increased in 2-MAG obtained from Novozymes 435, Lipozyme TLIM, and Lipozyme RMIM to 43.03 ± 0.36, 45.95 ± 0.29, and 40.50 ± 0.77%, respectively (p < 0.05). A thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis confirmed the production and separation of 2-MAG in the ethanolysis process. The ratio of total ω-3 to ω-6 fatty acids was almost twice in 2-MAG of SC-CO₂ extracted oyster oil. SC-CO₂ extracted Pacific oyster oil can be used for sn-1,3 specific lipases catalyzed ethanolysis to produce ω-3 PUFAs rich in 2-MAG.     

Simultaneous conversion of free fatty acids and triglycerides to biodiesel by immobilized Aspergillus oryzae expressing Fusarium heterosporum lipase

The presence of high levels of free fatty acids (FFA) in oil is a barrier to one‐step biodiesel production. Undesirable soaps are formed during conventional chemical methods, and enzyme deactivation occurs when enzymatic methods are used. This work investigates an efficient technique to simultaneously convert a mixture of free fatty acids and triglycerides (TAG). A partial soybean hydrolysate containing 73.04% free fatty acids and 24.81% triglycerides was used as a substrate for the enzymatic production of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). Whole‐cell Candida antarctica lipase B‐expressing Aspergillus oryzae, and Novozym 435 produced only 75.2 and 73.5% FAME, respectively. Fusarium heterosporum lipase‐expressing A. oryzae produced more than 93% FAME in 72 h using three molar equivalents of methanol. FFA and TAG were converted simultaneously in the presence of increasing water content that resulted from esterification. Therefore, F. heterosporum lipase with a noted high level of tolerance of water could be useful in the industrial production of biodiesel from feedstock that has high proportion of free fatty acids.     

Enzymatic synthesis of sialic acid derivative by immobilized lipase from Candida antarctica

The effects of important reaction parameters on the enhancement of sialic acid derivative lipophilic properties through the lipase-catalyzed esterification of N-acetyl neuraminic acid methyl ester are investigated in this study. It is found that the lipase Novozym 435 from Candida antarctica is particularly useful in the preparation of sialic acid methyl ester monononanoate (SAMEMN). The optimum temperature for the SAMEMN synthesis reaction using Novozym 435 is 60 °C, and nonanoic anhydride is found to be the best substrate among all acyl donors. The Novozym 435-catalyzed esterification of N-acetyl neuraminic acid methyl ester gave a maximum yield of 87.7% after 6 h in acetonitrile at 60 °C. Because the novel method developed is simple, yet effective, it could potentially be used industrially for the production of sialic acid derivatives.     

Synthesis of monoacylglycerol containing pinolenic acid via stepwise esterification using a cold active lipase

High purity monoacylglycerol (MAG) containing pinolenic acid was synthesized via stepwise esterification of glycerol and fatty acids from pine nut oil using a cold active lipase from Penicillium camembertii as a biocatalyst. Effects of temperature, molar ratio, water content, enzyme loading, and vacuum on the synthesis of MAG by lipase‐catalyzed esterification of glycerol and fatty acid from pine nut oil were investigated. Diacylglycerol (DAG) as well as MAG increased significantly when temperature was increased from 20 to 40°C. At a molar ratio of 1:1, MAG content decreased because of the significant increase in DAG content. Water has a profound influence on both MAG and DAG content through the entire course of reaction. The reaction rate increased significantly as enzyme loading increased up to 600 units. Vacuum was an effective method to reduce DAG content. The optimum temperature, molar ratio, water content, enzyme loading, vacuum, and reaction time were 20°C, 1:5 (fatty acid to glycerol), 2%, 600 units, 5 torr, and 24 h, respectively. MAG content further increased via lipase‐catalyzed second step esterification at subzero temperature. P. camembertii lipase exhibited esterification activity up to ?30°C. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2012     

Lipase-mediated conversion of vegetable oils into biodiesel using ethyl acetate as acyl acceptor

Ethyl acetate was explored as an acyl acceptor for immobilized lipase-catalyzed preparation of biodiesel from the crude oils of Jatropha curcas (jatropha), Pongamia pinnata (karanj) and Helianthus annuus (sunflower). The optimum reaction conditions for interesterification of the oils with ethyl acetate were 10% of Novozym-435 (immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B) based on oil weight, ethyl acetate to oil molar ratio of 11:1 and the reaction period of 12h at 50 degrees C. The maximum yield of ethyl esters was 91.3%, 90% and 92.7% with crude jatropha, karanj and sunflower oils, respectively under the above optimum conditions. Reusability of the lipase over repeated cycles in interesterification and ethanolysis was also investigated under standard reaction conditions. The relative activity of lipase could be well maintained over twelve repeated cycles with ethyl acetate while it reached to zero by 6th cycle when ethanol was used as an acyl acceptor.     

Enzymatic synthesis of betulinic acid ester as an anticancer agent: Optimization study

Abstract

Immobilized Candida antarctica lipase, Novozym 435, was used to catalyze the esterification reaction between betulinic acid and phthalic anhydride to synthesize 3-O-phthalyl betulinic acid in n-hexane/chloroform. Response surface methodology based on a five-level, four-variable central composite rotatable design was employed to evaluate the effects of synthesis parameters such as reaction time, reaction temperature, enzyme amount and substrate molar ratio on the yield of ester. Based on the response surface model, the optimal enzymatic synthesis conditions were predicted to be: reaction time 20.3 h, reaction temperature 53.9°C, enzyme amount 145.6 mg, betulinic acid to phthalic anhydride molar ratio 1:1.11. The predicted yield was 65.8% and the actual yield was 64.7%.     

A novel enzymatic route for biodiesel production from renewable oils in a solvent-free medium

A new enzymatic route for biodiesel production from soybean oil was developed using methyl acetate as a novel acyl acceptor. Novozym 435 (immobilized Candida antarctica lipase) gave the highest methyl ester (ME) yield of 92%. The optimum conditions of the transesterification were 30% enzyme based on oil weight; a molar ratio of methyl acetate/oil of 12:1; temperature 40 °C and reaction time 10 h. Since no glycerol was produced in the process, this method is very convenient for recycling the catalyst and by-product triacetylglycerol showed no negative effect on the fuel property.     

Studies on Lignin

In comparison with the ethanolysis, the mercaptolysis of pine wood and pine ethanol lignin has been studied. The delignification was found to be almost complete when wood powder was cooked with the ethanolic hydrogen chloride containing 10% of ethyl mercaptan; while the same cooking without the mercaptan caused only 50% of delignification. Addition of 2% of mercaptan resulted more than 90% of delignification. As already reported briefly, from the mercaptolysis oil of pine ethanol lignin, 2-ethoxy-1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-propanone- (1), a thioether corresponding to Hibbert’s α-ethoxypropiovanillone, was isolated.     

Enzymatic synthesis of fatty acid ethyl esters by utilizing camellia oil soapstocks and diethyl carbonate

This study was reported on a novel process for fatty acid ethyl esters preparation by transesterification and esterification from renewable low-cost feedstock camellia oil soapstocks and friendly acyl acceptor diethyl carbonate. The main components of product were 83.9% ethyl oleate, 8.9% ethyl palmitate, 4.7% ethyl linoleate and 2.1% ethyl stearate, which could be used as eco-friendly renewable resources or additives of industrial solvent and fossil fuel. The effects of molar ratio of diethyl carbonate to soapstocks oil, lipases, organic solvent, reaction temperature and time were investigated, and process conditions were optimized. The yield was up to 98.4% in solvent-free system with molar ratio of diethyl carbonate to soapstocks oil 3:1 and 5% Novozym 435 (based on the weight of soapstocks oil) at 50 °C and 180 rpm for 24 h. Moreover, there was no obvious loss in the yield after lipases were reused for 10 batches without treatment under optimized conditions.     

Lipase-catalyzed transesterification of soybean oil for biodiesel production in <Emphasis Type="Italic">tert</Emphasis>-amyl alcohol

Lipase-catalyzed transesterification of soybean oil and methanol for biodiesel production in tert-amyl alcohol was investigated. The effects of different organic medium, molar ratio of substrate, reaction temperature, agitation speed, lipase dosage and water content on the total conversion were systematically analyzed. Under the optimal conditions identified (6 mL tert-amyl alcohol, three molar ratio of methanol to oil, 2% Novozym 435 lipase based on the soybean oil weight, temperature 40°C, 2% water content based on soybean oil weight, 150 rpm and 15 h), the highest biodiesel conversion yield of 97% was obtained. With tert-amyl alcohol as the reaction medium, the negative effects caused by excessive molar ratio of methanol to oil and the by-product glycerol could be reduced. Furthermore, there was no evident loss in the lipase activity even after being repeatedly used for more than 150 runs.     

Different enzyme requirements for the synthesis of biodiesel: Novozym 435 and Lipozyme TL IM

Enzymatic syntheses of biodiesel via alcoholysis of different vegetable oils (sunflower, borage, olive and soybean) have been studied. Loss of lipase activity induced by the nucleophile is greater with methanol than with ethanol, and is greater for Lipozyme TL IM than for Novozym 435. The optimum volume of ethanol depends on the loading of solid biocatalyst and is higher for preparations of Novozym 435 than for Lipozyme TL IM. Maximum rates were obtained with Lipozyme TL IM, for a molar ratio of alcohol to FA residues of 0.33. By contrast, Novozym 435 requires at least a 2:1 ratio. Alcoholysis of the vegetable oils is faster with Lipozyme TL IM than with Novozym 435. Use of a high loading of Novozym 435 (50% w/w) and a large molar excess of ethanol are required to obtain an initial rate similar to that obtained with Lipozyme TL IM at a lower enzyme loading (10% w/w) and an equimolar ratio of ethanol and FA residues. Novozym 435 produces quantitative conversions in only 7h at 25 degrees C, but complete conversions are not obtained with Lipozyme TL IM. Three stage stepwise addition of ethanol yields 84% conversion to ethyl esters for Lipozyme TL IM. Hence use of Novozym 435 is preferred. After nine cycles in a batch reactor Novozym 435 retained 85% of its initial activity.     

Enzymatic oil extraction and positional analysis of ω-3 fatty acids in Nile perch and salmon heads

The use of commercial proteases, bromelain and Protex 30L for oil extraction/recovery of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) from Nile perch and salmon heads was evaluated. Four phases were obtained after hydrolysis, oily phase, emulsion, aqueous phase and sludge. An increase in water content during the hydrolysis resulted in a decrease in oil yield. Maximum oil yield was obtained when hydrolysis was performed with Protex 30L at 55 °C, without pH adjustment or water addition. An oil yield of 11.2% and 15.7% of wet weight was obtained from Nile perch and salmon heads, respectively, compared to 13.8% and 17.6%, respectively obtained using solvent extraction. Fatty acid distribution analysis showed 50% of palmitic acid was in sn-2 position in Nile perch triglycerides (TAG), while only 16% of this fatty acid was in sn-2 position in salmon oil TAG.     

Optimization of the ethanolysis of Raphanus sativus (L. Var.) crude oil applying the response surface methodology

Raphanus sativus (L. Var) is a perennial plant of the Brassicaceae (or Cruciferae) family whose oil has not been investigated in detail for biodiesel production, particularly when ethanol is used as the alcoholysis agent. In this work, response surface methodology (RSM) was used to determine the optimum condition for the ethanolysis of R. sativus crude oil. Three process variables were evaluated at two levels (2(3) experimental design): the ethanol:oil molar ratio (6:1 and 12:1), the catalyst concentration in relation to oil mass (0.4 and 0.8 wt% NaOH) and the alcoholysis temperature (45 and 65 degrees C). When the experimental results were tentatively adjusted by linear regression, only 58.15% of its total variance was explained. Therefore, a quadratic model was investigated to improve the poor predictability of the linear model. To apply the quadratic model, the 2(3) experimental design had to be expanded to a circumscribed central composite design. This allowed the development of a response surface that was able to predict 97.75% of the total variance of the system. Validation was obtained by performing one ethanolysis experiment at the conditions predicted by the model (38 degrees C, ethanol:oil molar ratio of 11.7:1 and 0.6 wt% NaOH). The resulting ester yield (104.10 wt% or 99.10% of the theoretical yield of 105.04 wt%) was shown to be the highest among all conditions tested in this study. The second ethanolysis stage of the best RSM product required 50% less ethanol and 90% less catalyst consumption. The amount of ethyl esters obtained after this procedure reached 94.5% of the theoretical yield. The resulting ethyl esters were shown to comply with most of the Brazilian biodiesel specification parameters except for oxidation stability. Addition of 500 ppm of BHT to the esters, however, complied with the specification target of 6h. The application of 2 wt% Magnesol after the second ethanolysis stage eliminated the need for water washing and helped generate a final product with less unreacted glycerides.     

Production of 10(S)-hydroxy-8(E)-octadecenoic and 7,10(S,S)-hydroxy-8(E)-octadecenoic ethyl esters by Novozym 435 in solvent-free media

Novozym 435, lipase B from Candida antarctica, was used in this study for the production of ethyl esters. For the first time, trans-hydroxy-fatty acid ethyl esters were synthesized in vitro in solvent-free media. We studied the effects of the substrate–ethanol molar ratio and enzyme synthetic stability of the biocatalyst. To determine the structure of the formed compounds, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization–time-of-flight mass spectrometry were used, three less time-consuming structural techniques. trans-Hydroxy-fatty acid ethyl esters were synthesized with a reaction yield of 90 % or higher with optimal reaction conditions.     

Biocatalysed synthesis of sn-1,3-diacylglycerol oil from extra virgin olive oil

Enzymatic synthesis of sn-1,3-diacylglycerols (sn-1,3-DAG) in two steps without isolation of the intermediates was investigated. Firstly ethanolysis of extra virgin olive oil (EVO) using immobilized non-regiospecific lipase from Candida antarctica (Novozym 435) was carried out to obtain glycerol (Gly) and fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE). In the second step the ethanolysis products have been re-esterificated testing different sn-1,3-regiospecific lipases, both immobilized and non-immobilized, in different reaction media, that is in the presence of solvents or in a solvent-free system, for different times, at different temperatures (12, 25 and 40 °C). The lipase from Rhizomucor miehei (Lipozyme IM) has been the most effective among the sn-1,3-specific lipases screened.     

Kinetics of enzymatic synthesis of L-ascorbyl acetate by Lipozyme TLIM and Novozym 435

L-ascorbyl acetate was synthesized through lipase-catalyzed esterification using Lipozyme TLIM and Novozym 435. Four solvents, including methanol, ethanol, acetonitrile, and acetone were investigated for the reaction, and acetone and acetonitrile were found to be suitable reaction media. The influences of several parameters such as water activity (a _w), substrate molar ratio, enzyme loading, and reaction temperature on esterification of L-ascorbic acid were systematically and quantitatively analyzed. Through optimizing the reaction, lipase-catalyzed esterification of L-ascorbic acid gave a maximum conversion of 99%. The results from using Lipozyme TLIM and Novozym 435 as biocatalysts both showed that a _w was an important factor for the conversion of L-ascorbic acid. The effect of pH value on lipase-catalyzed L-ascorbic acid esterification in acetone was also investigated. Furthermore, results from a kinetic characterization of Lipozyme TLIM were compared with those for Novozym 435, and suggested that the maximum reaction rate for Lipozyme TLIM was greater than that for Novozym 435, while the enzyme affinity for substrate was greater for Novozym 436.     

1,3‐Regiospecific ethanolysis of soybean oil catalyzed by crosslinked porcine pancreas lipase aggregates

The preparation of crosslinked aggregates of pancreatic porcine lipase (PPL‐CLEA) was systematically studied, evaluating the influence of three precipitants and two crosslinking agents, as well as the use of soy protein as an alternative feeder protein on the catalytic properties and stability of the immobilized PPL. Standard CLEAs showed a global yield (CLEA’ observed activity/offered total activity) of less than 4%, whereas with the addition of soy protein (PPL:soy protein mass ratio of 1:3) the global yield was approximately fivefold higher. The CLEA of PPL prepared with soy protein as feeder (PPL:soy protein mass ratio of 1:3) and glutaraldehyde as crosslinking reagent (10 μmol of aldehyde groups/mg of total protein) was more active mainly because of the reduced enzyme leaching in the washing step. This CLEA, named PPL‐SOY‐CLEA, had an immobilization yield around 60% and an expressed activity around 40%. In the ethanolysis of soybean oil, the PPL‐SOY‐CLEA yielded maximum fatty acid ethyl ester (FAEE) concentration around 12‐fold higher than that achieved using soluble PPL (34 h reaction at 30°C, 300 rpm stirring, soybean oil/ethanol molar ratio of 1:5) with an enzyme load around 2‐fold lower (very likely due to free enzyme inactivation). The operational stability of the PPL‐SOY‐CLEA in the ethanolysis of soybean oil in a vortex flow type reactor showed that FAEE yield was higher than 50% during ten reaction cycles of 24 h. This reactor configuration may be an attractive alternative to the conventional stirred reactors for biotransformations in industrial plants using carrier‐free biocatalysts. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 34:910–920, 2018