Development of a magnetic biocatalyst useful for the synthesis of ethyloleate

PAULA NICOLÁS; VERONICA LASSALLE; MARÍA LUJÁN FERREIRA

BIOPROCESS AND BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2013 vol. 37 p. 585 - 591

1615-7591

Candida antarctica Lipase B was successfullyimmobilized on magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles functionalizedwith chitosan and glutaraldehyde. The obtainedmagnetic catalyst was characterized and its performancewas evaluated in solvent-free synthesis of ethyl oleate atroom temperature. The performance of this biocatalyst wascompared with the commercial Novozym 435, as a tool toestimate the efficiency of immobilization. It was found thatusing 33 mg of the biocatalyst it was possible to reachalmost the same activity that was obtained using 12 mg ofNovozym 435. Furthermore, this new biocatalyst presentsthe advantages of not being degraded by short alcohols,being easily recovered from the reaction media by magneticdecantation, and low fabrication cost. The possibilityof reutilization was also studied, keeping a significantactivity up to eight cycles. A special sampling protocol wasalso developed for the multiphasic reaction system, toassure accurate results. This novel biocatalyst is an interestingalternative for potential industrial applications,considering the above-mentioned advantages.