Selective synthesis of triacylglycerols by the ADS-17-supported Candida antarctica lipase B through esterification of oleic acid and glycerol

BACKGROUND Immobilized enzyme possessing both high activity and good selectivity is important in practice. In this study, Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) was immobilized onto the macroporous resin ADS-17 for triacylglycerol (TAG) synthesis through esterification of oleic acid and glycerol. The reaction conditions were optimized by single-factor study and orthogonal test, and the reusability of the immobilized CALB (CALB@ADS-17) was evaluated. In addition, the mechanism of lipase immobilization was studied and the catalytic mechanism of CALB@ADS-17 was investigated. RESULTS Oleic acid conversion up to 99.20% and TAG content at 91.58 wt% could be obtained under optimal conditions. In addition, the CALB@ADS-17 retained 84.28% of its initial activity after 11 cycles of reuse. The mechanism of lipase immobilization was through hydrophobic adsorption. The relationship between temperature and oleic acid conversion was ln V 0 = 6.3316 − 4.3321/ T , and the activation energy ( E a ) was 36.02 kJ mol −1 . CALB@ADS-17 did not exhibit an obvious interfacial activation phenomenon. Its kinetic behavior can be described by the Michaelis–Menten model, whose kinetic parameters of v max , k cat , K m , K i , and k ca t /K m were 0.01265 μmol L −1 s −1 , 9310.72 s −1 , 0.4907 mmol L −1 , 3.997 mmol L −1 , and 1.90 × 10 4 L mmol −1 s −1 , respectively. CONCLUSION CALB@ADS-17 showed good esterification performance and exhibited good selectivity towards TAG generation. In addition, CALB@ADS-17 exhibited good reusability in esterification reactions and has potential in practical applications. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.