Engineering of lipase-catalyzed transesterification reaction media using water and diethylamine

The objective of presented study was to maximize yields of 2-methylbutyl esters, derived by transesterification reactions mediated by sn-1,3-specific lipases, through engineering of reaction medium. Effects of water and diethylamine (DEA) concentrations on the efficiency of plant oils 2-methylbutanolysis, catalyzed by either mycelium-bound Mucor circinelloides lipase (powder) or commercial immobilized lipase Lipozyme TL IM, were determined. Water content monitoring in reaction mixtures enabled to optimize the initial water content in terms of preventing the dehydration of enzyme's microenvironment and increasing 2-methylbutyl esters yields. These yields were found to be increased by addition of either suitable amounts of water (0.5-1.5%) or diethylamine (10-30 mM) to the mixture of substrates. The presented results suggest that at low concentrations, diethylamine molecules contribute to retaining water in the microenvironment of enzyme that gives rise to increased transesterification yields and significantly reduced amounts of residual mono-and 1,2-diacyl-glycerols.