Synthesis of fatty acid esters by a recombinant cutinase in reversed micelles.
Fusarium solani pisi recombinant cutinase, solubilized in AOT/isooctane-reversed micelles, was used to catalyze the esterification of fatty acids with aliphatic alcohols. Some relevant parameters for the enzyme activity such as pH, W(o) (water/surfactant molar ratio), temperature, and substrate concentration were optimized. Maximal specific activity was obtained for hexanol. The cutinase showed selectivity for short-chain fatty acids. The stability of the microencapsulated cutinase was investigated at various concentrations of water and different values of pH. Oleic acid had a negative effect on the cutinase stability, while hexanol proved to be a strong stabilizer increasing the half-life of the enzyme about 45 times.
Sebastião
M J
MJ
Laboratório de Engenharia Bioquímica, Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1000 Lisboa, Portugal.
Cabral
J M
JM
Aires-Barros
M R
MR