Investigation of the Effects of Ethanol on the Commercial Biocatalyst Novozym® 435

CARLA JOSÉ; RITA D. BONETTO; LUIS A. GAMBARO; MARÍA DEL PILAR GUAUQUE TORRES; MARÍA LAURA FORESTI; MARÍA LUJÁN FERREIRA; LAURA E. BRIAND

JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR CATALYSIS B-ENZYMATIC

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2011 vol. 71 p. 95 - 107

1381-1177

The effect of contacting neat ethanol and an ethanol:water mixture on Novozym 435 was investigated at room temperature and 45 Cm, during various periods of time of interaction with the alcohol (from 40 minutes to 8 days) and at a different biocatalyst:ethanol (ethanol/water) ratios. The alcohol dissolves the polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) that constitutes the support of the Candida antarctica B lipase (CALB) regardless of the conditions investigated and diffuses into the biocatalyst´s beads remaining strongly adsorbed (the desorption of the alcohol is evidenced upon heating at 150 C).The diffusion of the alcohol alters the inner structure of the beads generating channels and increasing the roughness of the  polymeric material. Additionally, the ethanol (With or without water added) modifies the secondary structure of the enzyme by decreasing the alfa helix contributions  and increasing the beta sheet structure.