Chemical modification for improving activity and stability of lipase B from Candida antarctica with imidazolium-functional ionic liquids

Various imidazolium-functional ionic liquids (ILs) composed of different cations and anions were grafted onto Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) through lysine coupling, and 4–6 of the 9 primary amino groups of the lysine residues were modified. The catalytic activity and stability were investigated in a p-nitrophenyl palmitate hydrolysis reaction. After modification, CALB was activated and achieved a high catalytic efficiency in the aqueous phase (e.g., [HOOCMMIm][Cl] modification showed a 1.5-fold increase in the catalytic efficiency). The thermostability and organic solvent tolerance were significantly increased with the ILs modification (e.g., [HOOCBMIm][Cl] owned kosmotropic cation and chaotropic anion modification showed a 7-fold thermostability increase at 70 °C, 1-fold increase in 50% aqueous dimethylformamide and 5-fold increase in 50% aqueous methanol). Conformation changes were confirmed by fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism spectroscopy and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.