Lipase-catalyzed glycerolysis in ionic liquids directed towards diglyceride synthesis

Ionic Liquids in Metal, Photo-, Electro-, and (Bio) Catalysis

Ionic liquids (ILs) have unique physicochemical properties that make them advantageous for catalysis, such as low vapor pressure, non-flammability, high thermal and chemical stabilities, and the ability to enhance the activity and stability of (bio)catalysts. ILs can improve the efficiency, selectivity, and sustainability of bio(transformations) by acting as activators of enzymes, selectively dissolving substrates and products, and reducing toxicity. They can also be recycled and reused multiple times without losing their effectiveness. ILs based on imidazolium cation are preferred for structural organization aspects, with a semiorganized layer surrounding the catalyst. ILs act as a container, providing a confined space that allows modulation of electronic and geometric effects, miscibility of reactants and products, and residence time of species. ILs can stabilize ionic and radical species and control the catalytic activity of dynamic processes. Supported IL phase (SILP) derivatives and polymeric ILs (PILs) are good options for molecular engineering of greener catalytic processes. The major factors governing metal, photo-, electro-, and biocatalysts in ILs are discussed in detail based on the vast literature available over the past two and a half decades. Catalytic reactions, ranging from hydrogenation and cross-coupling to oxidations, promoted by homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts in both single and multiphase conditions, are extensively reviewed and discussed considering the knowledge accumulated until now.

Immobilization of lipases onto the halogen & haloalkanes modified SBA-15: Enzymatic activity and glycerolysis performance study

In this study, SBA-15 was modified by halogen & haloalkanes and later used to immobilize lipases. The hydrolysis activity and the glycerolysis performance of the immobilized lipases was carefully studied. Highest activity of the immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB), Lipase from Aspergillus oryzae (AOL), Lecitase® Ultra (LU) and lipase from Rhizomucor miehei (RML) was respectively at 5577, 12000, 2822 and 11,577 U/g; in addition, the highest activity was obtained from the lowest or moderate lipase loading, at 25.73, 90.72, 89.52 and 30.56 mg/g respectively. The mechanism of lipase immobilization was studied and it was through interfacial activation. The halogen & haloalkanes modification of SBA-15 afforded considerable glycerolysis activity for diacylglycerols (DAG) preparation. CALB@SBA-15-CH₂CH₂(CF₂)₅CF₃ and CALB@SBA-15-CH₂CH₂(CF₂)₇CF₃ were suitable for DAG production, they both exhibited good reusability in glycerolysis reaction, with 117.36% and 93.06% of their initial glycerolysis activity retained respectively after ten cycles of reuse. The relationships between temperature with triacylglycerols (TAG) conversion were lnV₀ = 3.13-3.07/T and lnV₀ = 7.90-4.64/T respectively for CALB@SBA-15-CH₂CH₂(CF₂)₅CF₃ and CALB@SBA-15-CH₂CH₂(CF₂)₇CF₃; in addition, their activation energy (Ea) was respectively at 25.50 and 38.54 kJ/mol.

What do we learn from enzyme behaviors in organic solvents? - Structural functionalization of ionic liquids for enzyme activation and stabilization

Enzyme activity in nonaqueous media (e.g. conventional organic solvents) is typically lower than in water by several orders of magnitude. There is a rising interest of developing new nonaqueous solvent systems that are more "water-like" and more biocompatible. Therefore, we need to learn from the current state of nonaqueous biocatalysis to overcome its bottleneck and provide guidance for new solvent design. This review firstly focuses on the discussion of how organic solvent properties (such as polarity and hydrophobicity) influence the enzyme activity and stability, and how these properties impact the enzyme's conformation and dynamics. While hydrophobic organic solvents usually lead to the maintenance of enzyme activity, solvents carrying functional groups like hydroxys and ethers (including crown ethers and cyclodextrins) can lead to enzyme activation. Ionic liquids (ILs) are designable solvents that can conveniently incorporate these functional groups. Therefore, we systematically survey these ether- and/or hydroxy-functionalized ILs, and find most of them are highly compatible with enzymes leading to high activity and stability. In particular, ILs carrying both ether and tert-alcohol groups are among the most enzyme-activating solvents. Future direction is to learn from enzyme behaviors in both water and nonaqueous media to design biocompatible "water-like" solvents.

Ionization basis for activation of enzymes soluble in ionic liquids

BACKGROUND

The complex interactions between electrolytes and proteins have been studied for more than a century. However, understanding is not yet complete and does not provide a basis for predicting the activity of enzymes in ionic media. The use of ionic liquids (ILs) as reaction medium has opened up new opportunities for better understanding of the mechanism of enzymatic catalysis. Although a number of properties of ILs have been correlated with enzyme function, these relationships are not completely understood at a molecular level.

METHODS

We propose that ILs must be able to promote ionization of protein ionizable groups in order to dissolve active enzymes. The biocompatible IL need to possess a functional group with large donor number and acceptor number in both cationic and anionic units, each of which is based on a high dielectric constant lead structure. We designed and synthesized two series of ILs and determined their ionizing-dissociating abilities and activities of lipases soluble in these new ILs.

RESULTS

The results showed that the ionizing-dissociating abilities of ILs paralleled the catalytic activity trend of lipases dissolved in the ILs. The activities of lipases soluble in the newly designed ILs were comparable to those in water.

CONCLUSIONS

We can conclude that ionizing-dissociating abilities of an IL can be used as a basis for predicting the activity of enzymes soluble in the IL. General significance Ionization basis for activation of enzymes gives a deeper understanding of the behavior of enzymes in non-aqueous media at a molecular level.

Impact of ionic liquid properties on selective enrichment of glycerides in direct lipase-catalyzed esterification

The direct lipase-catalyzed esterification of oleic acid and glycerol was studied in ionic liquids in order to deduce the effects of solvent properties such as viscosity, E_N^T, log P and Kamlet–Taft parameters on selective enrichment of glycerides.

Protein Stabilization and Enzyme Activation in Ionic Liquids: Specific Ion Effects

There are still debates on whether the hydration of ions perturbs the water structure, and what is the degree of such disturbance; therefore, the origin of Hofmeister effect on protein stabilization continues being questioned. For this reason, it is suggested to use the 'specific ion effect' instead of other misleading terms such as Hofmeister effect, Hofmeister series, lyotropic effect, and lyotropic series. In this review, we firstly discuss the controversial aspect of inorganic ion effects on water structures, and several possible contributors to the specific ion effect of protein stability. Due to recent overwhelming attraction of ionic liquids (ILs) as benign solvents in many enzymatic reactions, we further evaluate the structural properties and molecular-level interactions in neat ILs and their aqueous solutions. Next, we systematically compare the specific ion effects of ILs on enzyme stability and activity, and conclude that (a) the specificity of many enzymatic systems in diluted aqueous IL solutions is roughly in line with the traditional Hofmeister series albeit some exceptions; (b) however, the specificity follows a different track in concentrated or neat ILs because other factors (such as hydrogen-bond basicity, nucelophilicity, and hydrophobicity, etc) are playing leading roles. In addition, we demonstrate some examples of biocatalytic reactions in IL systems that are guided by the empirical specificity rule.

Ether- and alcohol-functionalized task-specific ionic liquids: attractive properties and applications

In recent years, the designer nature of ionic liquids (ILs) has driven their exploration and exploitation in countless fields among the physical and chemical sciences. A fair measure of the tremendous attention placed on these fluids has been attributed to their inherent designer nature. And yet, there are relatively few examples of reviews that emphasize this vital aspect in an exhaustive or meaningful way. In this critical review, we systematically survey the physicochemical properties of the collective library of ether- and alcohol-functionalized ILs, highlighting the impact of ionic structure on features such as viscosity, phase behavior/transitions, density, thermostability, electrochemical properties, and polarity (e.g. hydrophilicity, hydrogen bonding capability). In the latter portions of this review, we emphasize the attractive applications of these functionalized ILs across a range of disciplines, including their use as electrolytes or functional fluids for electrochemistry, extractions, biphasic systems, gas separations, carbon capture, carbohydrate dissolution (particularly, the (ligno)celluloses), polymer chemistry, antimicrobial and antielectrostatic agents, organic synthesis, biomolecular stabilization and activation, and nanoscience. Finally, this review discusses anion-functionalized ILs, including sulfur- and oxygen-functionalized analogs, as well as choline-based deep eutectic solvents (DESs), an emerging class of fluids which can be sensibly categorized as semi-molecular cousins to the IL. Finally, the toxicity and biodegradability of ether- and alcohol-functionalized ILs are discussed and cautiously evaluated in light of recent reports. By carefully summarizing literature examples on the properties and applications of oxy-functional designer ILs up till now, it is our intent that this review offers a barometer for gauging future advances in the field as well as a trigger to spur further contemplation of these seemingly inexhaustible and--relative to their potential--virtually untouched fluids. It is abundantly clear that these remarkable fluidic materials are here to stay, just as certain design rules are slowly beginning to emerge. However, in fairness, serendipity also still plays an undeniable role, highlighting the need for both expanded in silico studies and a beacon to attract bright, young researchers to the field (406 references).