Synthesis and biodegradability of some adipic and sebacic esters

A review of synthesis of esters with aromatic, emulsifying, and lubricant properties by biotransformation using lipases

The esterification reactions catalyzed by lipases are among the most significant biochemical processes of industrial relevance. The lipases have the function of versatility by catalyzing a diversity of reactions with extreme ease, obtaining quality products with high yield. Therefore, enzyme-catalyzed esterification has gained increasing attention in many applications, due to the importance of derived products. More specifically, lipase-catalyzed esterification reactions have attracted interest in research over the past decade, due to the increased use of organic esters in the chemical and biotechnology industry. These esters can be obtained by three techniques: extraction from natural sources, chemical and enzymatic syntheses. Biotechnological processes have offered several advantages and are shown as a competitive alternative to chemical methods due to high catalytic efficiency, mild operating conditions, and selectivity of natural catalysts. These an industrial point of view, reactions catalyzed by enzymes are the most economical approach to achieve green products with no toxicity and no harm to human health. Thus, this review presents a descriptive evaluation of the trends and perspectives applied to enzymatic esterification, mainly for the synthesis of esters with different properties, such as aromatics, emulsifiers, and lubricants using the esterification process. An emphasis is given to essential factors, which affect the lipase-catalyzed esterification reaction. In which, the parameters dependent on the lipase source, a form of the biocatalyst (free or immobilized), the polarity of the reaction medium, the molar ratio between alcohol and acid, among other variables, are also discussed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Synthesis and characterization of hydrolytically degradable copolyester biomaterials based on glycolic acid, sebacic acid and ethylene glycol

Copolyesters of glycolic acid (G) combined with sebacic acid (S) and ethylene glycol were synthesized in different molar ratios (G: 0-100% and S: 100-0%) and their hydrolytic degradation was studied and correlated with their structures. Based on the FTIR spectra of the homopolyesters and copolyesters and the normalized peak intensity of the I(2918), I(2848) and I(1087) for the corresponding wavenumbers, it is concluded that the I(2918) and the I(2848) are in accordance with the mean number degree of polymerization of ethylene sebacate units and the I(1087) is in accordance with the mean number degree of polymerization of glycolate units. Based on the XRD diffractograms, poly(ethylene sebacate) and poly(glycolic acid) belong to the monoclinic and the orthorhombic crystal system, respectively and both have higher crystallinity than the copolyesters. The experimental data of the hydrolytic degradation were fitted with exponential rise to maximum type functions using two-parameter model and four-parameter model. Three regions can been distinguished for the hydrolytic degradation by decreasing the molar feed ratio of sebacic acid, which are correlated with the changes of crystallinity. Two copolyesters are proposed: first the copolyester with high amount of glycolate units (S10G90) having higher hydrolytic degradation than G100 and second the copolyester with equal amount of glycolate and ethylene sebacate units (S50G50), having lower hydrolytic degradation than G100. These hydrolytically degradable copolyesters are soluble in common organic solvents, opposite to poly(glycolic acid) and could have perspectives for biomedical applications.