This paper demonstrates Pseudomonas cepacia lipase catalyzed hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl palmitate under irradiation of light with wavelengths of 250-750 nm. The reaction follows Michaelis-Menten Kinetics and the light irradiation increases the overall rate of hydrolysis. Using Lineweaver-Burk plot K M and V max values for the reaction in presence of light are found to be 39.07 and 66.67 mM/min/g, respectively; while for the same reaction under dark condition, the values are 7.08 and 10.21 mM/min/g. The linear form of enzyme dependent rate of reaction confirms that no mass-transfer limitations are present and the reaction is a kinetically controlled enzymatic reaction.
Ultrasonic irradiation greatly improved the Candida antarctica lipase B mediated ring opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone to poly-6-hydroxyhexanoate in the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetraflouroborate. Compared to the conventional nonsonicated reaction, sonication improved the monomer conversion by 63% and afforded a polymer product of a narrower molecular weight distribution and a higher degree of crystallinity. Under sonication, the polydispersity index of the product was ~1.44 compared to a value of ~2.55 for the product of the conventional reaction. With sonication, nearly 75% of the monomer was converted to product, but the conversion was only ~16% for the reaction carried out conventionally. Compared to conventional operation, sonication enhanced the rate of polymer propagation by >2-fold and the turnover number of the lipase by >3-fold.