BIOCATALYTICAL SYNTHESIS AND MONOLAYER STUDIES OF MULTIPLE HYDROXYLATED WAX ESTERS

The continuous production of aleuritic acid decyl ester has been inves tigated with Lipozyme(TM) as biocatalyst in a fixed-bed reactor. To av oid the limiting effects of mean substrate solubility, the direct synt hesis without organic solvents was chosen, whereby a yield of 90% was obtained depending on the residence time. A comparison of different re action paths to syn- thesize a centrally dihydroxylated decyl ester in dicated a preference for transesterification of the methyl ester. Unde r external compression, the interfacial behavior of several enzymatica lly produced hydroxy wax esters was determined with a Langmuir film ba lance to find a structure/efficiency relationship. Brewster-angle micr oscopy allowed direct visualization of a wax ester monolayer at the ai r/water interlace.