Synthesis of CLA-enriched TAG byCandida antarcticalipase under vacuum

Ultrasound Plus Vacuum-System-Assisted Biocatalytic Synthesis of Octyl Cinnamate and Response Surface Methodology Optimization

Cinnamic acid is one of the phenolic compounds that is isolated from cinnamon, or other natural plants, and has a wide range of physiological activities. However, the application of cinnamic acid is limited due to its poor solubility and low oral bioavailability. In this study, the feasibility of producing octyl cinnamate by ultrasonic assistance, combined with a rotary evaporation under vacuum, was studied using methyl cinnamate and octanol as the starting materials. A Box–Behnken design (BBD) was employed to evaluate the effects of the operation parameters, including reaction temperature (55–75 °C), reaction time (4–12 h), and ultrasonic power (90–150 W) on the production of octyl cinnamate. Meanwhile, the synthesis process was further optimized by the modeling response surface methodology (RSM). The data indicated that octyl cinnamate was efficiently synthesized from methyl cinnamate and octanol using the ultrasound plus vacuum system; further, this system was superior to the conventional method. According to the RSM model for the actual experiments, a reaction temperature of 74.6 °C, a reaction time of 11.1 h, and an ultrasound power of 150 W were determined to be the best conditions for the maximum molar conversion of octyl cinnamate (93.8%). In conclusion, the highly efficient synthesis of octyl cinnamate by a rotary evaporator with an ultrasound plus vacuum system was achieved via RSM optimization.

PEGylation and macroporous carrier adsorption enabled long-term enzymatic transesterification

A novel enzyme catalyst with excellent stability and catalytic efficiency expected to be used in the ERD industry was prepared.

Enzymatic synthesis of extremely pure triacylglycerols enriched in conjugated linoleic acids

This work was objectively targeted to synthesize extremely pure triacylglycerols (TAG) enriched in conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs) for medical and dietetic purposes. Extremely pure CLA-enriched TAG was successfully synthesized by using the multi-step process: TAG was primarily synthesized by lipase-catalyzed esterification of CLA and glycerol and then the lower glycerides [monoacylglycerol (MAG) and diacylglycerol (DAG)] in the esterification mixtures was hydrolyzed to free fatty acids (FFAs) by a mono- and di-acylglycerol lipase (lipase SMG1), finally, the FFAs were further separated from TAG by low temperature (150 °C) molecular distillation. The operation parameters for the lipase SMG1-catalyzed hydrolysis were optimized using response surface methodology based on the central composite rotatable design (CCRD). The operation parameters included water content, pH and reaction temperature and all of these three parameters showed significant effects on the hydrolysis of lower glycerides. The optimal conditions were obtained with a water content of 66.4% (w/w, with respect to oil mass), pH at 5.7 and 1 h of reaction time at 19.6 °C. Under these conditions, the content of lower glycerides in the reaction mixture decreased from 45.2% to 0.3% and the purity of CLA-enriched TAG reached 99.7%. Further purification of TAG was accomplished by molecular distillation and the final CLA-enriched TAG product yielded 99.8% of TAG. These extremely pure CLA-enriched TAG would be used for in vivo studies in animals and humans in order to get specific information concerning CLA metabolism.