Enzymatic production and functional characterization of d-sorbitol monoesters with various fatty acids

Abstract

Sugar fatty acid esters are surfactants that are widely used in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, enzymatic production of d-sorbitol monoesters with various fatty acids (C10-C18) was assessed. Reactions were performed in tert-butanol at 40°C, catalyzed by Candida sp. 99-125 lipase. Dissolution of the substrates was found to be the limiting step of the reaction, and hence preheating was performed to increase the solubility of d-sorbitol. Thus, the yield of d-sorbitol palmitate was increased from 7.34 to 31.6 mM. The results demonstrated that the specific lipase preferred long-chain fatty acids. The surface-active properties of the products were also determined.