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Single‐step lipase‐catalyzed functionalization of medium‐chain‐length polyhydroxyalkanoates
Author(s) -
Gumel Ahmad M,
Annuar Suffian M,
Heidelberg Thorsten
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of chemical technology and biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1097-4660
pISSN - 0268-2575
DOI - 10.1002/jctb.3980
Subject(s) - polyhydroxyalkanoates , lipase , surface modification , chemistry , candida antarctica , biomaterial , biodegradation , substrate (aquarium) , yield (engineering) , catalysis , organic chemistry , polyester , polymer chemistry , chemical engineering , enzyme , materials science , bacteria , genetics , oceanography , engineering , metallurgy , biology , geology
Background Functionalization of aliphatic biopolymers such as bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates ( PHA ) using biologically active hydrophilic moieties like sugars helps to improve the hydrophilicity and biodegradability of the biomaterial . Results The effects of reaction variables reaction time, temperature, enzyme concentration and substrate ratio on reaction rate and yield in the synthesis of poly(1'‐ O ‐3‐hydroxyacyl‐sucrose) using Candida antarctica lipase B ( EC 3.1.1.3) were studied. Using H 2 O 2 as micro‐initiator, enzyme‐mediated synthesis yielded reaction rate, v app of 0.076 x 10 −5 mol L −1 s −1 . The biodegradability of the functionalized polymer was observed to increase by 1.5 fold compared with the non‐functionalized material apart from showing better compostability. Increasing the reaction temperature (>50°C), enzyme concentration (>15 g L −1 ) and reactant ratio (w/w) of sucrose: PHA (>2) did not increase further the rate or yield. The sucrose‐functionalized mcl‐ PHA was characterized with respect to the non‐functionalized material . Conclusions Novozym® 435 can be used effectively to synthesize poly(1'‐ O ‐3‐hydroxyacyl sucrose) in micro‐aqueous medium bypassing the need for chemo‐synthetic steps. The synthesized biomaterials have potential applications in biomedical and industrial niches.© 2012 Society of Chemical Industry