A fluorometric enzymatic assay for quantification of steryl glucosides in biodiesel

AGUIRRE, ANDRES; CABRUJA, MATÍAS ; CABRERA, RODOLFO; EBERHARDT, MARIA FLORENCIA; PEIRU, SALVADOR; MENZELLA, HUGO; RASIA, RODOLFO

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN OIL CHEMISTS SOCIETY (JAOCS)

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2014

0003-021X

Steryl glucosides are common contaminants in biodiesel that form precipitates, which grow during transport and storage. Their quantification is therefore necessary to assess the quality of this fuel. The methods currently available for SG quantification require expensive instrumentation, need a previous concentration step by solid-phase extraction (SPE) or are of limited use for the quantitative assessment of SG content. We devised an enzymatic method for steryl glucosides quantification in biodiesel samples based on the hydrolysis of the glucoside catalyzed by a promiscuous beta glucosidase and the subsequent determination of the glucose released by the reaction. The method is non-expensive, sensitive and it can be run on a 96-well format fluorescence plate reader, making it useful for the parallel assay of multiple samples. The enzymatic assay presented here may become a valuable tool for quality control of biodiesel samples, but also in the development of improved biodiesel production and purification procedures.