Enzymatic synthesis of sorbitan esters using a low-boiling-point azeotrope as a reaction solvent.
Sorbitan esters were prepared by controlled dehydration of sorbitol followed by lipase-catalyzed esterification of the resulting "sorbitan." The reaction was carried out in azeotropic mixtures of tert-butanol/n-hexane. A partial phase diagram to determine the temperature required for the distillation of the azeotrope at a given ratio of the solvents was constructed. The effect of varying concentrations of the two solvents on the rate of esterification and the monoester/diester ratio of the final product was investigated in detail. (c) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 54: 351-356, 1997.
Sarney
D B
DB
Biotransformations Section, Institute of Food Research, Earley Gate, Whiteknights Road, Reading RG6 6BZ, United Kingdom.
Barnard
M J
MJ
Virto
M
M
Vulfson
E N
EN