Influence of silica gel in production of diacylglycerol via enzymatic glycerolysis of palm olein

Enzymatic glycerolysis was explored in this paper for the production of diacylglycerol (DAG) oils from palm olein. Three commercial enzymes, Lipozyme TL IM, Lipozyme RM IM and Novozym 435 were used for their ability to synthesize DAG in a solvent‐free system. Novozym 435 was found to be the more effective enzyme, resulting in a high DAG production even in the absence of an adsorbent such as silica gel. The yields of DAG were between 43 and 50 wt‐%. Lipozyme TL IM and RM IM, being supported on hydrophilic materials, require an adsorbent to allow slow release of glycerol for reaction with the enzyme and oil. In the absence of silica, no reaction was observed. The success of the reaction is therefore very dependent on the amount of silica used. The yields of DAG using Lipozyme TL IM and RM IM were 52 and 45 wt‐%, respectively. In addition, the degree of reduction in tocopherols and tocotrienols appeared correlated with the efficacy of the glycerolysis reaction. Changes in the slip melting points and solid fat contents of the products are indicative of the reaction occurring.     

Production of Human Milk Fat Substitutes Catalyzed by a Heterologous Rhizopus oryzae Lipase and Commercial Lipases

This study aims to produce human milk fat substitutes by an acidolysis reaction between lard and the free fatty acids (FFA) from a fish oil concentrate rich in docosahexaenoic acid, in solvent-free media. The immobilized commercial lipases from (1) Rhizomucor miehei (Lipozyme RM IM), (2) Thermomyces lanuginosa (Lipozyme TL IM) and (3) Candida antarctica (Novozym 435) were tested as biocatalyst. Also, the heterologous Rhizopus oryzae lipase (rROL), immobilized in Accurel^® MP 1000, was tested as a feasible alternative to the commercial lipases. After 24 h of reaction at 50 °C, similar incorporations of polyunsaturated fatty acids (c.a. 17 mol%) were attained with Novozym 435, Lipozyme RM IM and rROL. The lowest incorporation was achieved with Lipozyme TL IM (7.2 mol%). Modeling acidolysis catalyzed by rROL and optimization of reaction conditions were performed by response surface methodology, as a function of the molar ratio FFA/lard and the temperature. The highest acidolysis activity was achieved at 40 °C at a molar ratio of 3:1, decreasing with both temperature and molar ratio. Operational stability studies for rROL in seven consecutive 24-h batches were carried out. After the fourth batch, the biocatalyst retained about 55 % of the original activity (half-life of 112 h).     

Lipase-catalyzed preparation of palmitic and stearic acid-rich phosphatidylcholine

Saturated FA enhance the oxidative stability of phospholipids. In the present study phosphatidylcholine (PC) rich in palmitic and stearic acids was prepared using lipase-catalyzed transesterification from PC isolated from egg and soybean lecithins. Two different lipases, namely, Novozym 435 and Lipozyme TL IM, were used for the transesterification. The reaction conditions were optimized by varying the lipase dosage, molar ratio of PC to FA, and reaction period. Palmitic acid could be incorporated up to 58.6 and 57.1% using Lipozyme TL IM and 56 and 61% using Novozym 435 in egg and soybean PC from an initial content of 37.4 and 16.8%, respectively. Similarly, stearic acid incorporation was up to 44.7 and 46.3% using Lipozyme TL IM and 37.2 and 55.8% using Novozym 435 in egg and soybean PC from an initial content of 8.6 and 2.1%, respectively.     

Optimized interesterification of virgin olive oil with a fully hydrogenated fat in a batch reactor: Effect of mass transfer limitations

The lipase‐catalyzed interesterification of virgin olive oil and fully hydrogenated palm oil (FHPO) was studied in a batch reactor operating at 75 °C. The reactions between olive oil {rich in OOO (32.36%), OPO (21.7%) and OLO (11.6%) [L = linoleic; O = oleic; P = palmitic acid]} and the fully hydrogenated fat {(36.5% PSP, 28.8% PPP, 23.2% SPS) [S = stearic acid]} produced semi‐solid fats. For an initial weight ratio of olive oil to FHPO of 60 : 40, the reaction product is a complex mixture of triacylglycerol (TAG) species. The TAG profile of the fat product is time dependent. Because of the high viscosity of the liquid reagent phase, it was important to determine if mass transfer effects were significant. Hence, the reaction was optimized with respect to the type and speed of agitation employed, temperature, use of solvent, and the type of biocatalyst. Three immobilized lipases [from Thermomyces lanuginosus (TL IM), Rhizomucor miehei (RM IM) and Candida antarctica B (Novozym 435)] were compared as catalysts for the interesterification reaction. Equilibrium is reached four times faster (in 1–4 h) with a magnetic stirrer to provide agitation than when agitation is not sufficient, i.e. when orbital agitation is employed. Equilibrium was reached faster with Lipozyme TL IM than with the other two lipases. The effects of all the factors investigated on the composition of the products have also been determined. Semi‐solid fats obtained with the non‐specific Novozym 435 contain levels of unsaturated fatty acid residues on sn‐2 sites that are similar to the products obtained with the 1(3)‐regiospecific enzymes Lipozyme TL IM and RM IM. The chemical properties of the product semi‐solid fat were characterized. The fat prepared using optimal reaction conditions contained 17.20% OPO, 13.61% OOO, 11.09% POP, and 10.35% OSP isomers as the primary products. The induction time obtained in the assay of the oxidative stability of the fat product was 21 h at 98 °C. The lipases Lipozyme TL IM and Novozym 435 were very stable with residual activities of 90 and 100%, respectively, after 15 batch reaction cycles.     

Chemical and enzymatic interesterification of a beef tallow and rapeseed oil equal‐weight blend

A mixture of beef tallow and rapeseed oil (1:1, wt/wt) was interesterified using sodium methoxide or immobilized lipases from Rhizomucor miehei (Lipozyme IM) and Candida antarctica (Novozym 435) as catalysts. Chemical interesterifications were carried out at 60 and 90 °C for 0.5 and 1.5 h using 0.4, 0.6 and 1.0 wt‐% CH₃ONa. Enzymatic interesterifications were carried out at 60 °C for 8 h with Lipozyme IM or at 80 °C for 4 h with Novozym 435. The biocatalyst doses were kept constant (8 wt‐%), but the water content was varied from 2 to 10 wt‐%. The starting mixture and the interesterified products were separated by column chromatography into a pure triacylglycerol fraction and a nontriacylglycerol fraction, which contained free fatty acids, mono‐, and diacylglycerols. It was found that the concentration of free fatty acids and partial acylglycerols increased after interesterification. The slip melting points and solid fat contents of the triacylglycerol fractions isolated from interesterified fats were lower compared with the nonesterified blends. The sn‐2 and sn‐1,3 distribution of fatty acids in the TAG fractions before and after interesterification were determined. These distributions were random after chemical interesterification and near random when Novozym 435 was used. When Lipozyme IM was used, the fatty acid composition at the sn‐2 position remained practically unchanged, compared with the starting blend. The interesterified fats and isolated triacylglycerols had reduced oxidative stabilities, as assessed by Rancimat induction times. Addition of 0.02% BHA and BHT to the interesterified fats improved their stabilities.     

Enzymatic Production of Monoacylglycerols with Camellia Oil by the Glycerolysis Reaction

Three commercial immobilized lipases, Lipozyme RM IM, Lipozyme TL IM and Novozym 435, were screened for the production of monoacylglycerols (MAG) by glycerolysis of camellia oil in a solvent medium of tert-butyl alcohol. Novozym 435 showed the best performance and was selected to catalyze the glycerolysis reaction. Different reaction conditions for the batch reaction, substrate mole ratio, substrate concentration and temperature, were investigated. The optimal reaction conditions were determined as 6:1 mole ratio of glycerol to camellia oil at 40% (w/v) of substrate concentration in tert-butyl alcohol at a reaction temperature of 50 °C. Under these optimal conditions, the conversion rate of camellia oil was 98.7% (10 h), and the mixture of acylglycerols contained 82.0% of MAG. A packed-bed reactor (PBR) system with 4.5 g Novozym 435 was employed in continuous production. The resulting product mixture of acylglycerols contained 80.74% of MAG and was obtained at a flow rate of 0.25 mL/min of substrates. The long-term operation of the PBR system gave an average productivity of 0.698 kg MAG/(kg enzyme h) after 38 days of operation.     

Enzymatic Synthesis of Biodiesel from Transesterification Reactions of Vegetable Oils and Short Chain Alcohols

Biodiesel synthesis by alcoholysis of three vegetable oils (soybean, sunflower and rice bran) catalyzed by three commercial lipases (Novozym 435, Lipozyme TL-IM and Lipozyme RM-IM), and the optimization of the enzymes stability over repeated batches is described. The effects of the molar ratio of alcohol to oil and the reaction temperature with methanol, ethanol, propanol and butanol were also studied. All three enzymes displayed similar reaction kinetics with all three oils and no significant differences were observed. However, each lipase displayed the highest alcoholysis activity with a different alcohol. Novozym 435 presented higher activity in methanolysis, at a 5:1 methanol:oil molar ratio; Lipozyme TL-IM presented higher activity in ethanolysis, at a 7:1 ethanol:oil molar ratio; and Lipozyme RM-IM presented higher activity in butanolysis, at a 9:1 butanol:oil molar ratio. The optimal temperature was in the range of 30–35 °C for all lipases. The assessment of enzyme stability over repeated batches was carried out by washing the immobilized enzymes with different solvents (n-hexane, water, ethanol, or propanol) after each batch. When washing with n-hexane, approximately 90% of the enzyme activity remained after seven synthesis cycles.     

C18 Unsaturated Fatty Acid Selectivity of Lipases During the Acidolysis Reaction Between Tripalmitin and Oleic,Linoleic, and Linolenic Acids

The C18 unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) selectivity of three immobilized lipases, namely, Lipozyme TL IM from Thermomyces lanuginosa, Lipozyme RM IM from Rhizomucor miehei, and Novozym 435 from Candida antarctica, was determined in acidolysis conducted in hexane. Tripalmitin with a mixture of equimolar quantities of C18 UFAs was used as the substrate. Significantly different incorporation rates were observed for C18 UFAs used (p < 0.05). The highest incorporation was obtained for all three C18 UFAs with Novozym 435 followed by Lipozyme RM IM and Lipozyme TL IM catalyzed acidolysis under default conditions (substrate mole ratio 1:1; temperature 50 °C; reaction time 6 h; enzyme dosage 10%). Incorporation of the equimolar quantities of C18 UFAs was in the order C18:3 > C18:2 > C18:1 which also reflects C18 UFAs preferences of the lipases. The effects of operating variables on incorporation or UFA selectivity of lipases were also investigated. Among the experimental parameters including the mole ratio of fatty acid to triolein, temperature, enzyme dosage, and time on incorporation, the effect of the substrate mole ratio on UFA selectivity was greater than those of the others.     

Enzymatic Interesterification of Palm Stearin and Coconut Oil by a Dual Lipase System

Enzymatic interesterification of palm stearin with coconut oil was conducted by applying a dual lipase system in comparison with individual lipase-catalyzed reactions. The results indicated that a synergistic effect occurred for many lipase combinations, but largely depending on the lipase species mixed and their ratios. The combination of Lipozyme TL IM and RM IM was found to generate a positive synergistic action at all test mixing ratios. Only equivalent amount mixtures of Lipozyme TL IM with Novozym 435 or Lipozyme RM IM with Novozym 435 produced a significant synergistic effect as well as the enhanced degree of interesterification. The interesterification catalyzed by Lipozyme TL IM mixed with thermally inactivated immobilized lipase preparations indicated that the carrier property may play an important role in affecting the interaction of two mixed lipases and the subsequent reactions. A dual enzyme system, consisting of immobilized lipases and a non-immobilized one (Lipase AK), in most cases apparently endows the free lipase with a considerably enhanced activity. 70% Lipase AK mixed with 30% immobilized lipase (Lipozyme TL IM, RM IM and Novozym 435) can achieve an increase in activity greater than 100% over the theoretical value when the reaction proceeds for 2 h. The co-immobilization action of the carrier of the immobilized lipases towards the free lipase was proposed as being one of the reasons leading to the synergistic effect and this has been experimentally verified by a reaction catalyzed by a Lipase AK-inactivated preparation. No apparently synergistic effect of the combinations of Lipozyme TL IM and RM IM was observed when the dual enzyme systems applied to the continuous reaction performed in a packed bed reactor. In brief, this work demonstrated the possibility of increasing the reaction rate or enhancing the degree of conversion by employing a dual lipase system as a biocatalyst.     

Lipase‐catalysed production and chemical composition of diacylglycerols from soybean oil deodoriser distillate

Diacylglycerols (DAG) were enzymatically produced by lipase‐catalysed esterification of glycerol with fatty acids from soybean oil deodoriser distillate (SODD). Effects of reaction parameters such as reaction time, temperature, enzyme type, enzyme load, substrate molar ratio and water content, as well as the effect of molecular sieves as water adsorbent were studied. Lipozyme RM IM was determined to be the most effective among the lipases screened. The following conditions yielded 69.9% DAG (all percentages are wt/wt): 4 h reaction time, 65 °C reaction temperature, 10% Lipozyme RM IM, 2.5:1 fatty acid to glycerol molar ratio, and 30% molecular sieves. DAG synthesis of 11.9% was still observed at 10% water content. After purification, the product oil contained 86.3% DAG. This oil consisted predominantly of 1,3‐diolein (19.1%), 1‐oleoyl‐3‐linoleoyl‐glycerol (18.2%) and 1‐oleoyl‐2‐linoleoyl‐glycerol (16.6%). The fatty acid profile of the oil was similar to that of refined, bleached and deodorised (RBD) soybean oil. The % ratio of 1,3‐ to 1,2‐positional isomers of DAG was at 56:44.     

Increasing Stearidonic Acid (SDA) in Modified Soybean Oil by Lipase-Mediated Acidolysis

The objective of this work was to synthesize a structured lipid (SL) enriched in stearidonic acid (SDA, C18:4 ω-3), from modified soybean oil (MSO) originally containing ~25% SDA. Low temperature crystallization (LTC) of MSO triacylglycerols (TAG) and free fatty acids (FFA) was performed. The TAG and FFA crystallization products (LTC-TAG and LTC-FFA, respectively) had SDA contents of 48.72 and 60.78%, respectively. Enzymatic acidolysis between MSO and LTC-FFA was studied utilizing Novozym 435 and Lipozyme TL IM as biocatalysts. Substrate molar ratio, incubation time, solvent, and enzyme load were explored. Equilibrium was reached at 96 and 48 h for Novozym 435 and Lipozyme TL IM-catalyzed reactions, respectively. The best conditions from these studies were also applied to the acidolysis of LTC-TAG and LTC-FFA. Utilizing Lipozyme TL IM and solvent free conditions, SLs with SDA contents of 37.61 ± 1.00% (20.86 ± 6.48% at sn-2 position) and 53.46 ± 1.85% SDA (36.37 ± 3.14% at sn-2 position) were obtained from the acidolysis reaction between MSO and LTC-FFA, and LTC-TAG and LTC-FFA, respectively. Compared to the original SDA content of MSO, this process leads to a 52 and 116% increase in SDA content, respectively.     

Mono‐Estolide Synthesis from trans‐8‐Hydroxy‐Fatty Acids by Lipases in Solvent‐Free Media and Their Physical Properties

Pseudomonas aeruginosa 42A2 is known to produce two hydroxy‐fatty acids, 10(S)‐hydroxy‐8(E)‐octadecenoic and 7,10(S,S)‐dihydroxy‐8(E)‐octadecenoic acids, when cultivated in a mineral medium using oleic acid as a single carbon source. These compounds were purified, 91 and 96 % respectively, to produce two new families of estolides: trans‐8‐estolides and saturated estolides from the monohydroxylated monomer. trans‐8‐estolides were produced by three different lipases (Novozym 435, Lipozyme RM IM and Lipozyme TL IM) with reaction yields between 68.4 ± 2.1 and 94.7 ± 2.4 % in a solvent‐free medium at 80 °C in 168 h under vacuum. Novozym 435 was found to be the most efficient biocatalyst for both hydroxy‐fatty acids with reaction yields of 71.7 ± 2.3 and 94.7 ± 2.4 %, respectively. Moreover, saturated estolides were also produced from a saturated 10(S)‐hydroxy‐8(E)‐octadecenoic. These estolides were chemically and enzymatically synthesized with Novozym 435, under the previous described reaction conditions with yields of 60.7 ± 2.1 and 71.2 ± 2.3 % respectively. Finally, viscosity, glass transition temperature, decomposition temperatures and enthalpies were determined to characterize both types of estolides. Thermal applications for both types of polyesters were improved since glass transition temperatures were lowered and decomposition temperatures were increased, with respect to their corresponding substrates.     

Continuous enzymatic production of biodiesel from virgin and waste sunflower oil in supercritical carbon dioxide

A continuous process for biodiesel production in supercritical carbon dioxide was implemented. In the transesterification of virgin sunflower oil with methanol, Lipozyme TL IM led to fatty acid methyl esters yields (FAME) that exceeded 98% at 20 MPa and 40 °C, for a residence time of 20 s and an oil to methanol molar ratio of 1:24. Even for moderate reaction conversions, a fractionation stage based on two separators afforded FAME with >96% purity. Lipozyme TL IM was less efficient with waste cooking sunflower oil. In this case, a combination of Lipozyme TL IM and Novozym 435 afforded FAME yields nearing 99%.     

Enzymatic Synthesis of an Isopropyl Ester by Alcoholysis of Camellia Oil

A camellia oil-based isopropyl ester (CO-IPE) was successfully synthesized by enzymatic alcoholysis with camellia oil (CO), and its physiochemical properties were analyzed. Three commercial immobilized lipases (Lipozyme RM IM, Lipozyme TL IM and Novozym 435) were screened, and Novozym 435 was the best one. The optimal reaction conditions were achieved at 240 U/g of Novozym 435 loading, a substrate molar ratio of 5:1 (isopropanol/CO), and 24 h of reaction time at 55 °C. Under the above conditions, the content of CO-IPE was obtained as 89.83%. Purity of CO-IPE further increased to be 96.95% after separation by rotary evaporation and molecular distillation. The viscosity of the synthesized CO-IPE showed itself to be about six times lower than that of CO, and the refractive index of the CO-IPE (1.449) was nearer to 1 in contrast to that of CO. It suggested that CO-IPE could be more intensively applied in the cosmetic industry.     

Study of TAG ethanolysis to 2-MAG by immobilized Candida antarctica lipase and synthesis of symmetrically structured TAG

Regiospecific ethanolysis of homogenous TAG with immobilized Candida antarctica lipase (Novozym 435) was studied using trioleoylglycerol (TO) as a model substrate. Optimization of the reactant weight ratio revealed that the 2-MAG reaction yield increased when a larger amount of ethanol was used. These results suggested that Novozym 435 showed strict regiospecificity in an excess amount of ethanol. The process optimization (reaction temperature and reactant molar ratio) and a study of lipase specificity for various substrates were performed. Under the optimized conditions (ethanol/TO molar ratio=77∶1 and 25°C), 2-monooleoylglycerol (2-MO) was obtained in more than 98% content among glycerides of the reaction mixture and approximately 88% reaction yield in 4 h. The above reaction conditions were applied for ethanolysis of tridocosahexaenoylglycerol, trieicosapentaenoylglycerol, triarachidonoylglycerol, tri-α-linolenoylglycerol, and trilinoleoylglycerol. Reaction yields ranging from 71.9 to 93.7% were obtained in short reaction times (2.5 to 8 h). Purified (>98%) 2-MO and 2-monodocosahexaenoylglycerol (2-MD) were reesterified with caprylic acid by immobilized Rhizomucor miehei lipase (Lipozyme IM) to afford symmetrical structured TAG. At a stoichiometric ratio of 2-MAG/caprylic acid, 25°C and 2–5 mm Hg vacuum, the glyceride composition of the esterification mixture was approximately 95% 1,3-dicapryloyl-2-oleoylglycerol (COC) at 4 h, and 96% 1,3-dicapryloyl-2-docosahexaenoylglycerol (CDC) at 4 h, and 96% 1,3-dicapryloyl-2-docosahexaenoylglycerol (CDC) at 8 h. The regioisomeric purity of both COC and CDC was 100%.     

Synthesis of Fatty Acid Ethyl Ester from Acid Oil in a Continuous Reactor via an Enzymatic Transesterification

Synthesis of a fatty acid ethyl ester via the lipase‐catalyzed transesterification of acid oil and ethanol was investigated in a continuous reactor. Lipozyme TL IM was employed as the immobilized lipase. This immobilized lipase derived from Thermomyces lanuginosus was purchased from Novozymes (Seoul, Korea). The acid oil was prepared by the acidification of soapstock formed as a by‐product during the refining of rice bran oil. The parameters investigated were water content, temperature, and molar ratio of substrates. The relative activity of Lipozyme TL IM was assessed during the repeated use of the immobilized lipase. The water content of the substrate had a considerable effect on the yield and the optimum water content was 4 %. The optimum temperature and molar ratio of acid oil to ethanol were 20 °C and 1:4, respectively. The maximum yield of approximately 92 % was achieved under the optimum conditions. The corresponding compositions were 92 % fatty acid ethyl esters, 3 % fatty acids, and 5 % acylglycerols. When glycerol formed during the reaction was removed by intermittent washing with ethanol, the relative activity of lipase was maintained over 82 % for a total usage of 27 cycles. For a mean residence time of 4 h, the half‐life times of Lipozyme TL IM on the control (unwashed) and treatment (washed) were 39 and 45 cycles, respectively.     

Enzymatic production of alkyl esters through alcoholysis: A critical evaluation of lipases and alcohols

This paper focuses on a detailed evaluation of commercially available immobilized lipases and simple monohydric alcohols for the production of alkyl esters from sunflower oil by enzymatic alcoholysis. Six lipases were tested with seven alcohols, including straight and branched-chain primary and secondary alcohols. The reactions were conducted in a batch stirred reaction vessel using stoichiometric amounts of substrates under solvent-free conditions. Dramatic differences in alcoholysis performance were observed among the different lipases. For most of the alcohols, Novozym 435 produced the highest yield of FA alkyl esters, with yields well over 90% for methanol, absolute ethanol, and 1-propanol. Overall, 96% ethanol was the preferred alcohol for all lipases except Novozym 435, and ethanolysis reactions reached the maximal conversion efficiency. Increasing the water content in the system resulted in an increased degree of conversion for all lipases except Novozym 435. The secondary alcohol 2-propanol significantly reduced the alcoholysis reaction with all lipases; however, the branch-chain isobutanol was more advantageous than linear 1-butanol for Novozym 435, Lipozyme RMIM, and Lipase PS-C. Many commercial immobilized lipases are highly efficient and promising for the production of alkyl esters, offering high reaction yields and a simple operation process.     

Synergism of microwave irradiation and enzyme catalysis in synthesis of isoniazid

Isoniazid is a useful antitubercular drug widely employed in combination therapy with rifampicin. The synthesis of isoniazid from ethyl isonicotinate and hydrazine hydrate was studied in non‐aqueous media via lipase‐catalyzed hydrazinolysis under both conventional heating and microwave irradiation by using different supported lipases. Among three different commercial lipases used, namely Novozym 435 (Candida antarctica lipase), Lipozyme RM IM (Rhizomucor miehei lipase) and Lipozyme TL IM (Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase), Novozym 435 was found to be the most effective, with conversion of 54% for equimolar concentrations at 50 °C in 4 h. The rate of reaction as well as final conversion increased synergistically under microwave irradiation in comparison with conventional heating, which showed 36.4% conversion, even after 24 h, for the control experiment. Effects of various process parameters such as speed of agitation, catalyst loading, substrate concentration, product concentration and temperature were studied. A kinetic model is also described. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Synthesis of n‐butyl acetamide over immobilized lipase

BACKGROUND: The conversion of carboxylic esters to amides can be accomplished efficiently by enzymatic catalysis. Amidation of benzyl acetate with n‐butyl amine was studied in non‐aqueous media using immobilized lipases. RESULTS: The activities of immobilized lipases, Novozym 435, Lipozyme RM IM and Lipozyme TL IM were evaluated in the synthesis of n‐butyl acetamide, among which Novozym 435 was the best. The process was optimized by studying various process parameters. Benzyl acetate conversion of 46% was achieved in 8 h for a mole ratio of 3:1 of n‐butyl amine to benzyl acetate with 3.67 g L^?1 Novozym 435 in toluene at 55 °C. A model based on an ordered bi–bi mechanism fitted the initial rate data very well and the rate constant and inhibition constants were calculated by non‐linear regression analysis. The initial rate studies showed that the Michaelis constant for benzyl acetate was low indicating high affinity between the enzyme and the reactant. CONCLUSION: A novel, efficient and environmentally benign enzymatic process is reported for the synthesis of n‐butyl acetamide. This method is general and can be used to synthesize analogous compounds in optically enriched form, since it is difficult to make such amides directly from carboxylic acids and amines by purely chemical means. The theoretical predictions and experimental data matched very well. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Utilization of reaction medium-dependent regiospecificity of Candida antarctica lipase (Novozym 435) for the synthesis of 1,3-dicapryloyl-2-docosahexaenoyl (or eicosapentaenoyl) glycerol

A highly efficient enzymatic method for the synthesis of regioisomerically pure 1,3-dicapryloyl-2-docosahexaenoyl glycerol (CDC) in two steps was established. 2-Monoglyceride (2-MG) formation by ethanolysis of tridocosahexaenoylglycerol (DDD) with immobilized Candida antarctica lipase (Novozym 435) as catalyst was the key step of the synthesis. CDC was finally obtained by reesterification of 2-MG with ethylcaprylate (EtC) catalyzed by Rhizomucor miehei lipase (Lipozyme IM). The regiospecificity of Novozym 435 depended on the type of reaction and the initial composition of the reaction medium. It displayed strict 1,3-regiospecificity for ethanolysis at a high excess of ethanol in the reaction mixture although it displayed no regiospecificity in transesterification and esterification reactions. The highest yield of CDC (85.4%) was obtained by ethanolysis at a 4∶1 weight ratio of ethanol/DDD for 6 h followed by reesterification at a 20∶1 molar ratio of EtC/initial DDD for 1.5 h. The regioisomeric purity of CDC was 100%. Good results were obtained also for the synthesis of 1,3-dicapryloyl-eicosapentaenoylglycerol (CEC) by the same method: 84.2% yield and 99.8% regioisomeric purity at the same reactant ratios as above. The yield of the reesterification step and the regioisomeric purity of the product were influenced by the molar ratio of the reactants for both CDC and CEC syntheses: higher excess of EtC favored higher yields and regioisomeric purity of the products.