[Enzymatic synthesis of homogenous triacylglycerol in media without solvent]

The study of triacylglycerols synthesis using 1,3-regiospecific immobilized Rhizomucor miehei lipase (lipozyme) or non-regiospecific immobilized Candida antarctica lipase (novozyme) as biocatalyst was carried out in pure substrates conditions. Our results show that long-chain triacylglycerols were synthesized from glycerol and free fatty acids at a higher rate than medium-chain triacylglycerols which were themselves synthesized at a higher rate than short-chain ones. Furthermore, it is clearly shown that linoleic acid is more slowly esterifled than oleic acid which is itself more slowly esterified than octadecanoic acid. The higher the number of unsaturation, the lower the rate of synthesis and the final yield. On the other hand, the final yield of synthesis is comparable when using specific or non-specific lipase, as biocatalyst.