6-O-glucose palmitate synthesis with lipase: Investigation of some key parameters

Fatty acid sugar esters represent an important class of non-ionic bio-based surfactants. They can be synthesized from vinyl fatty acids and sugars with enzyme as a catalyst. Herein, the influence of the solvent, the lipase and the temperature on a model reaction between vinyl palmitate and glucose via enzymatic catalysis has been investigated and the reaction conditions optimized. Full conversion into 6-O-glucose palmitate was reached in 40 hours in acetonitrile starting from a reactant ratio 1:1, at only 5%-wt loading of lipase from Candida antarctica B (CALB) without the presence of molecular sieves.