Enzymatic production and functional characterization of d-sorbitol monoesters with various fatty acids

• Enzymatic production of d-sorbitol monoesters with various fatty acids was studied.
• Substrate specificities of Candida sp. 99–125 were compared.
• Pretreatment significantly facilitated the equilibrium.
• Excellent surface properties were demonstrated.

Sugar fatty acid esters are surfactants that are widely used in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, enzymatic production of d-sorbitol monoesters with various fatty acids (C10–C18) was assessed. Reactions were performed in tert-butanol at 40 °C, catalyzed by Candida sp. 99–125 lipase. Dissolution of the substrates was found to be the limiting step of the reaction, and hence preheating was performed to increase the solubility of d-sorbitol. Thus, the yield of d-sorbitol palmitate was increased from 7.34 to 31.6 mM. The results demonstrated that the specific lipase preferred long-chain fatty acids. The surface-active properties of the products were also determined.

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