Biodegradable products by lipase biocatalysis

The interest in the applications of biocatalysis in organic syntheses has r apidly increased. In this context, lipases have recently become one of the most studied groups of enzymes. We have demonstrated that lipases can be us ed as biocatalyst in the production of useful biodegradable compounds. A. n umber of examples are given. I-Butyl oleate was produced by direct esterifi cation of butanol and oleic acid to decrease the viscosity of biodiesel in winter use. Enzymic alcoholysis of vegetable oils without additional organi c solvent has been little investigated. We have shown that a mixture of 2-e thyl-1-hexyl esters can be obtained in a good yield by enzymic transesterif ication from rapeseed oil fatty acids for use as a solvent. Trimethylolprop ane esters were also similarly synthesized as lubricants. Finally, the disc overy that lipases can also catalyze ester syntheses and transesterificatio n reactions in organic solvent systems has opened up the possibility of enz yme catalyzed production of biodegradable polyesters. In direct polyesterif ication of 1,4-butanediol and sebacic acid, polyesters with a mass average molar mass of the order of 56000 g mol(-1) or higher, and a maximum molar m ass of about 130000 g mol(-1) were also obtained by using lipase as biocata lyst. Finally, we have demonstrated that also aromatic polyesters can be sy nthesized by lipase biocatalysis, a higher than 50000 g mol(-1) mass averag e molar mass of poly(1,6-hexanediyl isophthalate) as an example. (C) 1998 E lsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.