Use of Pit Emulsions in Enzymatic Reactions

Abstract

An oil in water emulsion including water, an emulsifier and an oil phase is produced by the phase inversion temperature process and has a droplet size of 50 to 400 nm is provided. A process for the enzyme-catalyzed esterification, transesterification or hydrolysis of fatty acid alkyl esters and/or triglycerides is also provided where the oil in water emulsion is used as the reaction medium.

1 . An oil in water (o/w) emulsion composition, comprising water, an emulsifier, and an oil phase, wherein the emulsion is produced by the phase inversion temperature process and has a droplet size of 50 to 400 nm.  
   
   
       2 . The emulsion composition of  claim 1 , wherein the oil phase comprises compounds selected from the group consisting of fatty acid alkly esters and triglycerides.  
   
   
       3 . The emulsion composition of  claim 1 , wherein the emulsifier comprises fatty acid alkly esters corresponding to formula (I): 
       R 1 —COO—R 2   (I) 
     in which R 1  is a C 6-22  alkyl group and R 2  is a C 1-4  alkyl group.  
   
   
       4 . The emulsion composition of  claim 1 , wherein the oil phase is present in an amount of about 10 to 80% by weight of the total composition.  
   
   
       5 . The emulsion composition of  claim 1 , wherein the oil phase is present in an amount of about 20 to 50% by weight of the total composition.  
   
   
       6 . The emulsion composition of  claim 1 , wherein the water is present in an amount of about 20 to 90% by weight of the total composition.  
   
   
       7 . The emulsion composition of  claim 1 , wherein the water is present in an amount of about 30 to 80% by weight of the total composition.  
   
   
       8 . The emulsion composition of  claim 1 , wherein the water is present in an amount of about 30 ti 70% by weight of the total composition.  
   
   
       9 . The emulsion composition of  claim 1 , wherein the emulsifier comprises an emulsifier system comprising a hydrophilic emulsifier with a hydrophilic/lipophilic balance value of 8 to 18, and a hydrophobic emulsifier.  
   
   
       10 . The emulsion composition of  claim 9 , wherein the ratio of the hydrophilic emulsifier to the hydrophobic emulsifier is 10:90.  
   
   
       11 . The emulsion composition of  claim 9 , wherein the ratio of the hydrophilic emulsifier to the hydrophobic emulsifier is 90:10.  
   
   
       12 . The emulsion composition of  claim 1 , wherein the emulsifier is present in an amount of about 1 to 25% by weight of the total composition.  
   
   
       13 . The emulsion composition of  claim 1 , wherein the emulsifier is present in an amount of about 5 to 20% by weight of the total composition.  
   
   
       14 . The emulsion composition of  claim 1 , wherein the emulsifier is present in an amount of about 5 to 15% by weight of the total composition.  
   
   
       15 . The emulsion composition of  claim 1 , further comprising an interfacially active enzyme comprising hydrolases and/or acyl transferases.  
   
   
       16 . The emulsion composition of  claim 15 , wherein the hydrolases are selected from the group consisting of esterases, phospholipases, lipases and lipases/acyl transferases.  
   
   
       17 . The emulsion composition of  claim 16 , wherein lipases and/or lipases/acyl transferases are obtained from organisms selected from the group consisting of  Alcaligenses, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus oryzea, Aeromonas aerophila, Bacillus  species,  Candida albicans, Candida antarctica  ( Trychosporon oryzae, Pseudozyma antarctica ),  Candida antarctica, Candida cylindracea, Candida glabrata, Candida maltose, Candida parapsilosis, Candida lipolytica, Candida tropicalis, Candida viswanathii, Chromobacterium viscosum, Fusarium solani, Geotrichum candidum, Issatchenkia orientalis  ( Candida krusei ),  Kluyveromyces marxianus  ( C. kefyr, C. pseudotropicalis ).  Mucor javanicus, Penicilium camemberti, Penicilium roqueforti, Pichia guilliermondii  ( Candida guilliermondii ),  Porcine pancreas, Pseudomonas cepacia, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Rhizomucor miehei, Rhizopus arrhizus, Rhizopus oryzae, Rhizopus niveus, Rhizopus javanicus  and  Thermomyces lanugenosus  and mixtures thereof.  
   
   
       18 . The emulsion composition of  claim 15 , wherein the enzymes are present in an amount of about 0.001 to 20% by weight, and expressed as pure enzyme or as enzyme preparation, based on the total amount of oil phase present.  
   
   
       19 . This emulsion composition of  claim 1 , wherein the composition is used in an enzyme-catalyzed reaction selected from the group consisting of hydrolysis, esterification, and transesterification.  
   
   
       20 . The emulsion of composition of  claim 19 , wherein a cosmetic, pharmaceutical, or fine chemical product is produced in the enzyme-catalyzed reaction.  
   
   
       21 . The emulsion composition of  claim 20 , wherein the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, or fine chemical comprises a carotinoids, a sterol-containing oil component and/or vitamin E.  
   
   
       22 . A process for he enzyme-catalyzed esterification, transesterification or hydrolysis of fatty acid alkyl esters and/or triglycerides, wherein the o/w emulsion according to  claim 1  is used as the reaction medium.  
   
   
       23 . The process of  claim 22 , wherein a cosmetic, pharmaceutical, or fine chemical is produced in the enzyme-catalyzed reaction.  
   
   
       24 . The process of  claim 23 , wherein the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, or fine chemicals comprises a carotinoid, a sterol-containing oil component, and/or vitamin E.  
   
   
       25 . The process of  claim 22 , wherein the enzymes are interfacially active enzymes comprising hydrolases and/or acyl transferases.