Effect of chain length of alcohol on the lipase-catalyzed esterification of propionic acid in supercritical carbon dioxide

Investigation on solvent-free esterification of oleic acid by hemp tea waste-immobilized Candida rugosa lipase

This study aimed at Candida rugosa lipase immobilization on a low-cost and readily available support. Among agro-industrial crops, hemp tea waste was chosen as the carrier because it provides higher immobilization performance than hemp flower and leaf wastes. Support characterization by ATR-FTIR, SEM and elemental analysis and the optimization of the adsorption immobilization process were performed. The lipase adsorption immobilization was obtained by soaking the support with hexane under mild agitation for 2 h and a successively incubating the enzyme for 1 h at room temperature without removing the solvent. The esterification of oleic acid with n-decanol was tested in a solvent-free system by studying some parameters that influence the reaction, such as the substrates molar ratio, the lipase activity/oleic acid ratio, reaction temperature and the presence/absence of molecular sieves. The biocatalyst showed the ability to bring the esterification reaction to equilibrium under 60 min and good reusability (maintaining 60 % of its original activity after three successive esterification reactions) but low conversion (21 %) at the optimized conditions (40 °C, 1:2 substrates molar ratio, 0.56 lipase/oleic acid ratio, without sieves). Comparing the results with those obtained by free lipase form at the same activity (1 U) and experimental conditions, slightly higher conversion (%) appeared for the free lipase. All this highlighted that probably the source of lipase for its carbohydrate-binding pocket and lid structure affected the esterification of oleic acid but certainly, the immobilization didn't induce any lipase conformational change also allowing the reuse of the catalytic material.

Esterification of propanoic acid in the presence of a homogeneous catalyst

Esters are organic compounds that are widely used even on an industrial scale, so their production has been extensively investigated. The aim of this work is to carry out the optimization process of esterification of propionic acid with lower monohydric alcohols. The influence of the amount of catalyst (H2SO4), the size and structure of the alcohol, the influence of the a-substituent, the molar acid/alcohol ratio and temperature on the esterification process were investigated. The descending order of reactivity tested alcohol is: 1-butanol> 1-propanol> ethanol> 2-propanol. As the acid/alcohol molar ratio increases, the rate and yield of the esterification reaction increase. The maximum yield of n-propyl propanoate in our experiments was 96.9%, achieved at a molar ratio of propanoic acid/1-propanol/catalyst 1/10/0.20 and a temperature of 65°C for 210 minutes of reaction.

Solvent-free esterifications mediated by immobilized lipases: a review from thermodynamic and kinetic perspectives

Esters are a highly relevant class of compounds in the industrial context, and biocatalysis applied to ester syntheses is already a reality for some chemical companies.

Acoustic cavitation promoted lipase catalysed synthesis of isobutyl propionate in solvent free system: Optimization and kinetic studies

The present work highlights the effect of ultrasound on enzymatic synthesis of isobutyl propionate, a rum flavor by esterification of isobutanol and propionic acid in non-aqueous, solvent free system (SFS) using Fermase CALB™10000. The optimization study for different variables in presence of ultrasound showed a maximum conversion of 95.14% at 60°C temperature, 4% w/w enzyme dose, 1:3 acid:alcohol ratio, 40W power, 25kHz frequency, 50% duty cycle and 150rpm speed in 3h as compared to 10h of conventional method. The optimal enzyme loading was reduced to 4% w/w using ultrasound irradiation compared to 5% w/w of conventional. The efficiency of enzyme improved notably and can be reused up to seven cycles preserving its former activity. The application of ultrasound greatly enhanced esterification reactions by maintaining enzyme stability and improving the production yield. Moreover, owing towards a green approach, the synthesis is carried out in SFS for development of lucrative flavor ester. Bisubstrate kinetic models like random bi-bi, ping pong bi-bi and ordered bi-bi were applied to the experimental data using non-linear regression analysis. The experimental data and kinetic study revealed that reaction obeyed Ping-Pong bi-bi model with kinetic parameters, V_max=50.0M/min/gcatalyst, K_A=4.87×10^-2M, K_B=9.06×10^-4M, K_iA=9.8×10^-1M, K_iB=1.05×10^-3M &SSE=2.74×10^-4 for lipase catalysed synthesis of isobutyl propionate under ultrasound with inhibition by both acid and alcohol.

High enantioselective Novozym 435-catalyzed esterification of (R,S)-flurbiprofen monitored with a chiral stationary phase

Lipases form Candida rugosa and Candida antarctica were tested for their application in the enzymatic kinetic resolution of (R,S)-flurbiprofen by enantioselective esterification. Successful chromatographic separation with well-resolved peaks of (R)- and (S)-flurbiprofen and their esters was achieved in one run on chiral stationary phases by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In this study screening of enzymes was performed, and Novozym 435 was selected as an optimal catalyst for obtaining products with high enantiopurity. Additionally, the influence of organic solvents (dichloromethane, dichloroethane, dichloropropane, and methyl tert-butyl ether), primary alcohols (methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, and n-butanol), reaction time, and temperature on the enantiomeric ratio and conversion was tested. The high values of enantiomeric ratio (E in the range of 51.3-90.5) of the esterification of (R,S)-flurbiprofen were obtained for all tested alcohols using Novozym 435, which have a great significance in the field of biotechnological synthesis of drugs. The optimal temperature range for the performed reactions was from 37 to 45 °C. As a result of the optimization, (R)-flurbiprofen methyl ester was obtained with a high optical purity, eep = 96.3 %, after 96 h of incubation. The enantiomeric ratio of the reaction was E = 90.5 and conversion was C = 35.7 %.

Synergism between microwave irradiation and enzyme catalysis in transesterification of ethyl-3-phenylpropanoate with n-butanol

Lipase catalyzed transesterification was investigated to study the synergistic effect of microwave irradiation and enzyme catalysis. Transesterification of ethyl-3-phenylpropanoate with n-butanol was chosen as the model reaction using immobilized enzymes such as Novozyme 435, Lipozyme RMIM and Lipozyme TL IM with microwave irradiation. Novozyme 435 was the best catalyst. The effect of various parameters affecting the conversion and initial rates of transesterification were studied to establish kinetics and mechanism. There is synergism between enzyme catalysis and microwave irradiation. The analysis of initial rate data and progress curve data showed that the reaction obeys the Ping-Pong bi-bi mechanism with inhibition by n-butanol. The theoretical predictions and experimental data match very well. These studies were also extended to other alcohols such as 2-phenyl-1-propanol, n-octanol, benzyl alcohol, iso-amyl alcohol, 2-hexanol and 2-pentanol under otherwise similar conditions.