The enzymatic synthesis of glucosylmyristate as a reaction model for general considerations on ‘sugar esters’ production

Sugar esters’ are non-ionic biodegradable surfactant which are potentially attractive for the cosmetic and food market. Unfortunately, the formation of by-products by chemical synthesis affects the quality of the surfactant. Enzymatic synthesis is a promising and environmentally friendly approach preventing this problem but requiring a proper setting up of the reaction system (membrane reactor, azeotropic mixture, pervaporation system, etc.) for the control of the water activity so that the enzyme efficiency is often negatively affected. In this paper, the synthesis of glucosylmyristate by Novozym 435 is taken as a model to illustrate the general features of the ‘sugar esters’ synthesis, with particularly regard to the influence on the synthesis of the pre-reaction treatment of the enzyme and reaction mixture, water adsorbents, reaction solvents, products and reagents. The aim is reached by placing the water adsorbents in contact with the enzyme preparation, so that high dehydration efficiency is achieved and the other factors affecting the kinetic of the synthesis are better highlighted.