Enzymatic preparation of biosurfactants from sugars or sugar alcohols and fatty acids in organic media under reduced pressure

Sugar-Based Surfactants: Effects of Structural Features on the Physicochemical Properties of Sugar Esters and Their Comparison to Commercial Octyl Glycosides

Two series of sugar esters with alkyl chain lengths varying from 5 to 12 carbon atoms, and with a head group consisting of glucose or galactose moieties, were synthesized. Equilibrium surface tension isotherms were measured, yielding critical micellar concentration (CMC) surface tensions at CMC (γcmc) and minimum areas at the air-water interface (Amin). In addition, Krafft temperatures (Tks) were measured to characterize the ability of molecules to dissolve in water, which is essential in numerous applications. As a comparison to widely used commercial sugar-based surfactants, those measurements were also carried out for four octyl d-glycosides. Impacts of the linkages between polar and lipophilic moieties, alkyl chain lengths, and the nature of the sugar head group on the measured properties were highlighted. Higher Tk and, thus, lower dissolution ability, were found for methyl 6-O-acyl-d-glucopyranosides. CMC and γcmc decreased with the alkyl chain lengths in both cases, but Amin did not appear to be influenced. Both γcmc and Amin appeared independent of the ester group orientation. Notably, alkyl (methyl α-d-glucopyranosid)uronates were found to result in noticeably lower CMC, possibly due to a closer distance between the carbonyl function and the head group.

From Lactose to Alkyl Galactoside Fatty Acid Esters as Non-Ionic Biosurfactants: A Two-Step Enzymatic Approach to Cheese Whey Valorization

A library of alkyl galactosides was synthesized to provide the "polar head" of sugar fatty acid esters to be tested as non-ionic surfactants. The enzymatic transglycosylation of lactose resulted in alkyl β-D-galactopyranosides, whereas the Fischer glycosylation of galactose afforded isomeric mixtures of α- and β-galactopyranosides and α- and β-galactofuranosides. n-Butyl galactosides from either routes were enzymatically esterified with palmitic acid, used as the fatty acid "tail" of the surfactant, giving the corresponding n-butyl 6-O-palmitoyl-galactosides. Measurements of interfacial tension and emulsifying properties of n-butyl 6-O-palmitoyl-galactosides revealed that the esters of galactopyranosides are superior to those of galactofuranosides, and that the enantiopure n-butyl 6-O-palmitoyl-β-D-galactoside, prepared by the fully enzymatic route, leads to the most stable emulsion. These results pave the way to the use of lactose-rich cheese whey as raw material for the obtainment of bio-based surfactants.

Synthesis of water-soluble surfactants using catalysed condensation polymerisation in green reaction media

Sustainable and biobased surfactants are required for a wide range of everyday applications. Key drivers are cost, activity and efficiency of production. Polycondensation is an excellent route to build surfactant chains from bio-sourced monomers, but this typically requires high processing temperatures (≥200 °C) to remove the condensate and to lower viscosity of the polymer melt. In addition, high temperatures also increase the degree of branching and cause discolouration through the degradation of sensitive co-initiators and monomers. Here we report the synthesis of novel surface-active polymers from temperature sensitive renewable building blocks such as dicarboxylic acids, polyols (d-sorbitol) and fatty acids. We demonstrate that the products have the potential to be key components in renewable surfactant design, but only if the syntheses are optimised to ensure linear chains with hydrophilic character. The choice of catalyst is key to this control and we have assessed three different approaches. Additionally, we also demonstrate that use of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) can dramatically improve conversion by reducing reaction viscosity, lowering reaction temperature, and driving condensate removal. We also evaluate the performance of the new biobased surfactants, focussing upon surface tension, and critical micelle concentration.

Synthesis and characterisation of novel linear surface-active polymers from temperature sensitive renewable building blocks using an inexpensive catalyst and clean scCO2 as reaction medium.

Integrated Process for the Enzymatic Production of Fatty Acid Sugar Esters Completely Based on Lignocellulosic Substrates

Lignocellulose can be converted sustainably to fuels, power and value-added chemicals like fatty acid esters. This study presents a concept for the first eco-friendly enzymatic synthesis of economically important fatty acid sugar esters based on lignocellulosic biomass. To achieve this, beech wood cellulose fiber hydrolysate was applied in three manners: as sugar component, as part of the deep eutectic solvent (DES) reaction system and as carbon source for the microbial production of the fatty acid component. These fatty acids were gained from single cell oil produced by the oleaginous yeast Cryptococcus curvatus cultivated with cellulose fiber hydrolysate as carbon source. Afterwards, an immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B was used as the biocatalyst in DES to esterify sugars with fatty acids. Properties of the DES were determined and synthesized sugar mono- and di-esters were identified and characterized using TLC, MS, and NMR. Using this approach, sugar esters were successfully synthesized which are 100% based on lignocellulosic biomass.

Catalytic Synthesis of a New Series of Alkyl Uronates and Evaluation of Their Physicochemical Properties

Large quantities (>3 g) of a new series of alkyl uronates were synthesized in two steps from commercial methyl hexopyranosides. Firstly, several tens of grams of free methyl α-d-glucopyranoside were selectively and quantitatively oxidized into corresponding sodium uronate using 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy free radical (TEMPO)-catalyzed oxidation. Hydrophobic chains of different length were then introduced by acid-mediated esterification with fatty alcohols (ethyl to lauryl alcohol) leading to the desired alkyl glucuronates with moderate to good yields (49%–72%). The methodology was successfully applied to methyl α-d-mannopyranoside and methyl β-d-galactopyranoside. Physicochemical properties, such as critical micelle concentration (CMC), equilibrium surface tension at CMC (γ_cmc), solubility, and Krafft temperature were measured, and the effect of structural modifications on surface active properties and micelle formation was discussed.

Reduction of Free Fatty Acid Content of Olive-Pomace Oil by Enzymatic Glycerolysis

The enzymatic glycerolysis of free fatty acids in olive-pomace oil was carried out by immobilised Candida antarctica lipase. The effects of time, molecular sieve, enzyme concentration and reaction temperature on free fatty acids content were investigated. The initial acidity of the olive-pomace oil (32%) was reduced to 2.36% in the presence of 750 mg of molecular sieve in the reaction mixture. The effectiveness of glycerolysis was directly related to the amount of molecular sieve present. As the amount of molecular sieve increased, the conversion of free fatty acids also increased at a defined time. In the absence of molecular sieve, the esterification reaction forced to reverse reaction that is the hydrolysis. The greater conversion of free fatty acids into glycerides was observed at an enzyme concentration of 27.2 mg/mL within 60 min. ANOVA showed that the effects of temperature on fatty acid content was significant ( p < 0.05). Results obtained from non-linear regression analysis indicated that reaction order was 1.3 for fatty acid reduction in the olive-pomace oil. Calculated activation energy for fatty acid reduction was 32.89 kJ/mol.

Sugar ester surfactants: enzymatic synthesis and applications in food industry

Sugar esters are non-ionic surfactants that can be synthesized in a single enzymatic reaction step using lipases. The stability and efficiency of lipases under unusual conditions and using non-conventional media can be significantly improved through immobilization and protein engineering. Also, the development of de novo enzymes has seen a significant increase lately under the scope of the new field of synthetic biology. Depending on the esterification degree and the nature of fatty acid and/or sugar, a range of sugar esters can be synthesized. Due to their surface activity and emulsifying capacity, sugar esters are promising for applications in food industry.

Functional self-assembled lipidic systems derived from renewable resources

Self-assembled lipidic amphiphile systems can create a variety of multi-functional soft materials with value-added properties. When employing natural reagents and following biocatalytic syntheses, self-assembling monomers may be inherently designed for degradation, making them potential alternatives to conventional and persistent polymers. By using non-covalent forces, self-assembled amphiphiles can form nanotubes, fibers, and other stimuli responsive architectures prime for further applied research and incorporation into commercial products. By viewing these lipid derivatives under a lens of green principles, there is the hope that in developing a structure-function relationship and functional smart materials that research may remain safe, economic, and efficient.

Mesoporous Silica Sol-Gel as Catalyst for the Synthesis of Alkylpolyglucosides

The synthesis of alkylpolyglucosides involves condensation of decanol with dextrose in the presence of mesoporous silica sol-gel as a catalyst. In this study, mesoporous silica was produced using sol-gel technique by converting tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) into silica. The mesoporous silica was characterized using BET surface area measurement and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy surface analysis. The specific BET surface area was 794m2/g. From the XPS analysis, the Si2p binding energy is 103.7 eV while the O1s binding energy is 532.8eV indicating the formation of Si-O-Si bond which attributed to SiO2. Mesoporous silica has been found efficient to be solid catalyst for synthesis alkylpolyglucosides and easy to be separated. The reaction was carried out 8 hours at 110°C-120°C under vacuum condition. The mass determination of alkylpoluglucosides has been achieved by ESI LC-MS/MS (ToF) positive-mode giving a mass peak at m/z = 343.21 corresponding to [M++ of alkylmonoglucoside peak at retention time 11.0 min.

Maximization of fructose esters synthesis by response surface methodology

Enzymatic synthesis of fructose fatty acid ester was performed in organic solvent media, using a purified lipase from Candida antartica B immobilized in acrylic resin. Response surface methodology with a central composite rotatable design based on five levels was implemented to optimize three experimental operating conditions (temperature, agitation and reaction time). A statistical significant cubic model was established. Temperature and reaction time were found to be the most significant parameters. The optimum operational conditions for maximizing the synthesis of fructose esters were 57.1°C, 100 rpm and 37.8 h. The model was validated in the identified optimal conditions to check its adequacy and accuracy, and an experimental esterification percentage of 88.4% (±0.3%) was obtained. These results showed that an improvement of the enzymatic synthesis of fructose esters was obtained under the optimized conditions.

Biocatalysis for the production of carbohydrate esters

Carbohydrate fatty acid esters are nonionic biosurfactants, which can be synthesized from the esterification of mono- or oligosaccharides by enzymatic catalysis. These esters are increasingly used as important commodity chemicals, such as low calorific sweeteners and biosurfactants in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Recently, some of the ester derivatives have shown their therapeutic potential with antitumor activity, plant growth inhibition and antibiotic activities, which became one of the 'hot' subjects for various biological processes. However, this potential has not been fully explored because the production of oligoesters (e.g. di-, tri- and tetra-) of sugars is a difficult problem in organic chemistry because of the abundance of hydroxyl groups in sugar molecules and the similar reactivity of most of them. Solvent engineering can be employed to improve the yields of sugar esters by using biocatalytic reactions. Protein engineering is useful in improving the catalytic efficiency, thermostability and pH stability of biocatalysts for enzymatic synthesis of sugar ester. The use of recombinant DNA technology to produce large quantities of enzymes in a heterologous host will lower the overall production cost. The cloning of key enzyme genes for the carbohydrate esters biosynthesis pathway and overexpressing these genes using strong promoters in either plants or microorganisms through metabolic engineering will be also discussed in this review.

Enzymatically prepared n-alkyl esters of glucuronic acid: the effect of freeze-drying conditions and hydrophobic chain length on thermal behavior

In this work, some of the physicochemical properties of enzymatically prepared n-alkyl esters of glucuronic acid are presented. Two questions are addressed. The first concerns the influence of post-purification freeze-drying conditions on octyl glucuronate thermotropic behavior. Depending on the amount of water added before freeze-drying, the alpha/beta anomeric ratio determined by (1)H NMR is affected and differences are observed in DSC thermograms probably due to polymorphism. The second question concerns the effect of hydrophobic chain length on the thermal behavior. An increase of both transition temperature and transition enthalpy is observed by increasing the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl chain (C8<C10<C12<C14). This kind of results can provide relevant information for the processing and the practical use of these nonionic surfactants.

Phase behavior and rheological properties of enzymatically synthesized trehalose decanoate aqueous solutions

Surface tension properties of an enzymatically synthesized equimolar mixture of trehalose mono- and didecanoate in aqueous solutions have been determined. At 20 degrees C a critical micellar concentration (CMC) of 50 micromol/l and a minimal surface tension of 28 mN/m have been obtained. Above the CMC, it has been shown that up to a concentration of 42 wt%, and in a 20-60 degrees C temperature range the sugar ester aqueous solutions do not form any crystalline structure, nor present any phase transition, and the trehalose decanoate molecules form an isotropic worm-like micellar phase. The rheological properties indicate however a more complicated picture in the same concentration and temperature ranges. In steady shear, the viscosity of the trehalose decanoate solutions do not exhibit any shear rate dependence from 1 to 100 s(-1) for concentrations up to 42 wt%. Below 0.8 wt%, the viscosity remains constant and close to that of water; then, between 0.8 and 23 wt%, the viscosity shows a quadratic increase with surfactant concentration. For higher concentrations, up to 42 wt%, no further significant increase in viscosity is observed. In oscillatory shear experiments, the solutions exhibit viscoelastic properties. The observed rheological behavior as a function of concentration and temperature may be due to a progressive evolution of the trehalose decanoate molecular associations: as the concentration increases, the system evolves towards an entangled and/or partially branched or cross-linked micellar network, and eventually a multiconnected network of cross-linked micelles.

Biocatalytic acylation of carbohydrates with fatty acids from palm fatty acid distillates

Palm fatty acid distillates (PFAD) are by-products of the palm oil refining process. Their use as the source of fatty acids, mainly palmitate, for the biocatalytic synthesis of carbohydrate fatty acid esters was investigated. Esters could be prepared in high yields from unmodified acyl donors and non-activated free fatty acids obtained from PFAD with an immobilized Candida antarctica lipase preparation. Acetone was found as a compatible non-toxic solvent, which gave the highest conversion yields in a heterogeneous reaction system without the complete solubilization of the sugars. Glucose, fructose, and other acyl acceptors could be employed for an ester synthesis with PFAD. The synthesis of glucose palmitate was optimized with regard to the water activity of the reaction mixture, the reaction temperature, and the enzyme concentration. The ester was obtained with 76% yield from glucose and PFAD after reaction for 74 h with 150 U ml(-1) immobilized lipase at 40 degrees C in acetone.

Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of sorbitol-fatty acid esters at extremely high substrate concentrations

Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of sorbitol-fatty acid esters was performed in eutectic media with extremely high substrate concentrations. Homogeneous eutectic melts of sorbitol and fatty acids of C6-C16 were prepared using an adjuvant mixture. Enhanced homogeneity of mixtures was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. The substrate concentration was 3.63-6.67 M in the eutectic media, whereas in organic media the concentration was below 0.10 M. Esters were synthesized with an immobilized Candida antarctica lipase, and optimum conditions were analyzed. Compared to reactions in organic media, the initial reaction rate of ester synthesis and the overall productivity were significantly enhanced in eutectic media while the conversion yields were similar. Based on the kinetic analysis, highly viscous eutectic media were shown to influence the initial reaction rate and the apparent activation energy resulting in diffusion limitations.

Enzyme catalyzed esterification

Enzyme catalyzed esterification reactions have found many applications, ranging from the modification of vegetable oils for human consumption to the production of optically pure chemicals. To displace the equilibrium in favor of synthesis, rather than hydrolysis, these reactions are performed in non-aqueous or microaqueous media. The influence of the amount of water, and of the nature of organic solvent, are new parameters to consider in the optimization of industrial processes. They also add a new perspective to our knowledge of the functioning of enzymes.

Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of xylitol monoesters: solvent engineering approach

A solvent engineering strategy was applied to the lipase-catalyzed synthesis of xylitol-oleic acid monoesters. The different esterification degrees for this polyhydroxylated molecule were examined in different organic solvent mixtures. In this context, conditions for high selectivity towards monooleoyl xylitol synthesis were enhanced from 6 mol% in pure n-hexane to 73 mol% in 2-methyl-2-propanol/dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) 80:20 (v/v). On the contrary, the highest production of di- and trioleoyl xylitol, corresponding to 94 mol%, was achieved in n-hexane. Changes in polarity of the reaction medium and in the molecular interactions between solvents and reactants were correlated with the activity coefficients of products. Based on experimental results and calculated thermodynamic activities, the effect of different binary mixtures of solvents on the selective production of xylitol esters is reported. From this analysis, it is concluded that in the more polar conditions (100% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO)), the synthesis of xylitol monoesters is favored. However, these conditions are unfavorable in terms of enzyme stability. As an alternative, binary mixtures of solvents were proposed. Each mixture of solvents was characterized in terms of the quantitative polarity parameter E(T)(30) and related with the activity coefficients of xylitol esters. To our knowledge, the characterization of solvent mixtures in terms of this polarity parameter and its relationship with the selectivity of the process has not been previously reported.

Modification of flavonoid using lipase in non-conventional media: effect of the water content

The enzymatic acylation of a flavonoid (naringin) was investigated in this work. This atypic substrate for a lipase was esterified very selectively by the immobilized Candida antarctica lipase: a single product was synthesized and was assumed to be the 6-O-palmitate naringin ester acylated on the glucose moiety. As lipase-catalyzed esterification reactions in organic media are greatly influenced by the water content, the effect of the initial hydration level of the reaction medium components was pointed out for naringin palmitate synthesis. 2-Methyl 2-butanol (solvent) and naringin (acyl acceptor) provided high amounts of water and when dried increased the conversion yield by 63% and the specific activity by 60%. On the contrary, the enzyme must not be dried because water is essential for the three-dimensional structure of the protein and, if absent, results in a 67% loss of activity. As water was produced in parallel to ester synthesis, the equilibrium of the reaction might be shifted by its removal. When the reaction was carried out with 100 g l(-1) molecular sieves 4A added after 24 h of reaction, a conversion yield of 43% was reached after 55 h reaction.