Biotechnology Letters, Vol.35, No.9, 1449-1454, 2013
Enhanced transesterification of ethyl ferulate with glycerol for preparing glyceryl diferulate using a lipase in ionic liquids as reaction medium
Glyceryl diferulate (DFG) is a water-soluble ester of ferulic acid. A novel ionic liquid (IL) system for enzymatic transesterification of ethyl ferulate (EF) with glycerol to produce DFG was developed. Of three ILs with different anions (BF4 (-), PF6 (-) and TF2N-) and cations (BDMIM, OMIM, HMIM, BMIM, and EMIM), EMIMTF2N proved the best using a commercial lipase. It had a significant protective effect against thermal inactivation of the enzyme. High EF conversion (similar to 100 %) and DFG yield (45 %) were achieved using 45 mg enzyme/ml; temperature, 70 A degrees C; reaction time, 12 h.