Insight into enzymatic synthesis of phosphatidylserine in deep eutectic solvents

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have recently attracted a significant interest in numerous fields including biocatalysis because they are inexpensive, environmentally friendly, non-toxic, biodegradable, and enzyme compatible. Herein, these solvents were successfully used as the reaction media for enzyme-mediated transphosphatidylation of phosphatidylcholine with L-serine for the synthesis of phosphatidylserine for the first time. Enzymatic phosphatidylserine synthesis in various DESs was comprehensively investigated, employing phospholipase D. Our results indicated that >90% yield of phosphatidylserine could be achieved using choline chloride/ethylene glycol as DES. Furthermore, 81% original activity of the enzyme was maintained after being used for 10 batches. This study indicates that DESs act as potential candidates for the eco-friendly solvents in biocatalysis applications. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.