Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
  • 2 Department of Biotechnology and Medical Engineering, Faculty of Biosciences and Medical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
  • 3 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. roswanira@kimia.fs.utm.my
Appl Biochem Biotechnol, 2015 Oct;177(4):967-84.
PMID: 26267406 DOI: 10.1007/s12010-015-1791-z

Abstract

The chemical production of methyl oleate using chemically synthesized fatty acid alcohols and other toxic chemicals may lead to significant environmental hazards to mankind. Being a highly valuable fatty acid replacement raw material in oleochemical industry, the mass production of methyl oleate via environmentally favorable processes is of concern. In this context, an alternative technique utilizing Candida rugosa lipase (CRL) physically adsorbed on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) has been suggested. In this study, the acid-functionalized MWCNTs prepared using a mixture of HNO3 and H2SO4 (1:3 v/v) was used as support for immobilizing CRL onto MWCNTs (CRL-MWCNTs) as biocatalysts. Enzymatic esterification was performed and the efficiency of CRL-MWCNTs was evaluated against the free CRL under varying conditions, viz. temperature, molar ratio of acid/alcohol, solvent log P, and enzyme loading. The CRL-MWCNTs resulted in 30-110 % improvement in the production of methyl oleate over the free CRL. The CRL-MWCNTs attained its highest yield (84.17 %) at 50 °C, molar ratio of acid/alcohol of 1:3, 3 mg/mL of enzyme loading, and iso-octane (log P 4.5) as solvent. Consequently, physical adsorption of CRL onto acid-functionalized MWCNTs has improved the activity and stability of CRL and hence provides an environmentally friendly means for the production of methyl oleate.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.