Effects of additives on lipase immobilization in microemulsion-based organogels

An inexpensive, facile, and environmentally benign method was developed to improve the activity and stability of Candida rugosa lipase (triacylglycerol acylhydrolase) immobilized on microemulsion-based organogels (CRL MBGs) via the addition of additives during immobilization. The additives used were polyethylene glycol (PEG) or polysaccharides. This study is the first report on the effect of additives in CRL MBGs. Among the tested additives, PEG produced the most improvement in the immobilized CRL, enhancing its stability in organic solvents (specifically polar solvents). The results of circular dichroism and fluorescence spectra experiments indicated that exposure of the acidic CRL to electronegative additives in the buffer, such as polyethylenimine and the electropositive surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, may change the lipase secondary structure, ultimately causing enzyme inactivation. However, sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate and PEG 2000 had minimal effects on the secondary structure of CRL. The CRL MBGs containing PEG 2000 demonstrated remarkable retention of their catalytic activity during the recycling test. No significant changes in enzymatic activity were observed, even after nine runs, and 90% of the original yield was maintained after 15 cycles.