Improved Performance of Magnetic Cross-Linked Lipase Aggregates by Interfacial Activation: A Robust and Magnetically Recyclable Biocatalyst for Transesterification of Jatropha Oil

Lipases are the most widely employed enzymes in commercial industries. The catalytic mechanism of most lipases involves a step called interfacial activation. As interfacial activation can lead to a significant increase in catalytic activity, it is of profound importance in developing lipase immobilization methods. To obtain a potential biocatalyst for industrial biodiesel production, an effective strategy for enhancement of catalytic activity and stability of immobilized lipase was developed. This was performed through the combination of interfacial activation with hybrid magnetic cross-linked lipase aggregates. This biocatalyst was investigated for the immobilization of lipase from Rhizomucor miehei (RML). Under the optimal conditions, the activity recovery of the surfactant-activated magnetic RML cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) was as high as 2058%, with a 20-fold improvement over the free RML. Moreover, the immobilized RML showed excellent catalytic performance for the biodiesel reaction at a yield of 93%, and more importantly, could be easily separated from the reaction mixture by simple magnetic decantation, and retained more than 84% of its initial activities after five instances of reuse. This study provides a new and versatile approach for designing and fabricating immobilized lipase with high activation and stability.