ENZYMATIC-SYNTHESIS OF POLYGLYCEROL-FATTY ACID-ESTERS IN A SOLVENT-FREE SYSTEM

The enzymatic transesterification of fatty acid methyl esters from veg etable oil and polyglycerol has been successfully performed in the pre sence of Lipozyme without any solvent. The optimal conditions to obtai n a mixture with lipophilic tensioactive properties were found to be a molar ratio of fatty acid methyl esters and polyglycerol of 1.33:1 at 60 degrees C. Evaporation of the methanol produced in this reaction i ncreased the yield of the reaction. Moreover, for this reaction, adsor ption of the polyol on silica gel prior to the transesterification all owed the completion of the reaction and improved the kinetic propertie s. Hydrophile-lipophile balance and surface activity of the polyglycer ol esters were measured to determine the emulsifying properties of the se molecules.