TERPENE ESTER PRODUCTION IN A SOLVENT PHASE USING A REVERSE MICELLE-ENCAPSULATED LIPASE

The synthesis of terpene esters was studied using a Candida rugosa lip ase encapsulated in ail AOT-revevse-micellar solution. Three terpene a lcohols, geraniol, citronellol, and menthol and three triacylglycerols , tributyrin, tricaprylin, and triacetin were investigated as substrat es for the transesterification. Geraniol and tributyrin were found to be the best substrates to form the terpene eater in a water/AOT/isooct ane reverse micellar solution. To obtain higher conversion yields of g eraniol, the reaction parameters such as solvent type: enzyme and surf actant concentration, pH, W-o, and substrate concentration and ratio w ere investigated It was concluded that enzyme deactivation in the reve rse micelle was the main factor leading to suboptimal conversions. For a geraniol concentration of 100 mw, the highest extent of conversion of geraniol in a 500 mM AOT-reverse-micellar solution at pH 7 and W-o = 11 at 30 degrees C was about 70%; however the stability of the entra pped lipase under these conditions was low; the activity level for the C. rugosa lipase entrapped in reverse micelles dropped precipitously to about 10% within 24 h. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.