Polysiloxane-polyvinyl alcohol hybrid matrix was prepared by a sol-gel technique and its capacity to bind porcine pancreatic lipase investigated. The loading of 250 units g −1 support was shown to be effective, resulting in an immobilized lipase with high catalytic activity. Both free and immobilized lipases were characterized by determining the activity profile as a function of pH, temperature, substrate concentration and thermal stability. Application of the immobilized lipase in non-conventional biocatalysis for the synthesis of surfactants and biodiesel was also analyzed. Production of sugar fatty acid esters was found to be dependent on the carbohydrate and the highest molar conversion (50% in 3-4 h of reaction) was achieved for substrates containing fructose and lauric or oleic acids. Biodiesel synthesis from babassu oil and ethanol, propanol or butanol was feasible and regardless of the kind of alcohols, results revealed that the immobilized PPL could efficiently convert triglycerides to fatty acid alkyl esters attaining yields varying from 75 to 95%.

No abstract

Lipase from Candida rugosa (CRL) was immobilized by covalent attachment on hydrous niobium oxide. The matrix could effectively be attached to the enzyme with high retention of activity and prevent its leakage. Following immobilization, CRL exhibited improved storage stability and performed better at higher incubation temperatures. In addition, the enzyme retained most of its catalytic efficiency after successive operational cycles. The immobilized derivative was also fully characterized with respect to its morphological properties: particle size, surface specific area, and pore size distribution. Structural integrity and conformational changes, such as surface cavities in the support, set by the lipase procedure, were observed by Scanning Electron Microscopy. Additionally, a comparative study between free and immobilized lipases was provided in terms of pH, temperature, and thermal stability. CRL derivative was evaluated for the synthesis of biodiesel employing babassu oil and short chain alcohols. The process was feasible only for oil and butanol reaction system.