Immobilization of lipase from Candida rugosa on styrene-based polymers with magnetic properties: biochemical and kinetic characterization

• Grant number: 17/06228-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): June 01, 2017
• Effective date (End): February 28, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Larissa de Freitas
• Grantee: Ana Cláudia de Freitas Cardoso
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de Lorena (EEL). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Lorena , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The demand to industries to operate their processes in sustainable conditions are increasingly stringent. Thus, the performance of enzymes as biological catalysts presents a potential alternative, since they act under milder reaction conditions, reducing generation of residues and by-products. However, their use in large scale is still restrict due to some disadvantages of this type of process, such as high cost, difficulty of recovery of the biocatalyst, solubility of enzymes in some reaction media and enzymatic instability. Different techniques of immobilization of enzymes has being used in order to overcome these limitations, enabling their reuse, maintaining the catalytic activity for an extended period of time, allowing the continuous operation of the process and facilitating the separation of the final product, in addition also provides greater thermal stability and pH range of acting. In this context, the present project aims to develop a biocatalyst by the immobilization of microbial lipase in styrene-based polymer particles magnetized by co-precipitation of Fe+2 e Fe +3 ions for subsequent application in biotransformation reactions, such as synthesis of emollient esters. The development of the work will be divided into 3 stages: Initially the styrene-based polymer particles will be synthetize by suspension polymerization using different crosslinking agents. Subsequently, the immobilization of Candida rugosa lipase in the synthesized supports will be carried out by the physical adsorption technique and different possible forms of drying of the immobilized derivatives will be evaluated. Finally, the biocatalyst selected as the most suitable will be characterized by its biochemical properties, kinetic parameters, thermal, storage and operational stabilities. To sum up, this proposal contribution will be the development of new active and stable biocatalysts as viable alternatives to conventional chemical process, aiming the manufacture of products of industrial and environmental interest.