Novel preparation method for surfactant-lipase complexes utilizing water in oil emulsions

A novel preparation method for surfactant-lipase complexes has been developed utilizing water in oil emulsions. In order to optimize the preparation conditions, we have investigated the effects of several operational parameters on the enzymatic activity of the surfactant-lipase complexes in organic media. When a nonionic surfactant was employed under optimal preparation conditions [alkaline pH 8-10, organic/aqueous = 90/10 (v/v), concentration of surfactant, 10 mM[, the surfactant-lipase complex efficiently catalyzed the esterification of benzyl alcohol with lauric acid in organic media. The esterification rate of the surfactant-lipase complex was increased over 16-fold relative to the native powder lipase. Furthermore, the lipase complex showed high storage stability. (c) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 55: 455-460, 1997.