Microbial lipases : at the interface of aqueous and non-aqueous media: a review

In recent times, biotechnological applications of <b>microbial lipases</b> in synthesis of many organic molecules have rapidly increased in <b>non-aqueous media</b>. <b>Microbial lipases</b> are the working horses' in biocatalysis and have been extensively studied when their exceptionally high stability in <b>non-aqueous media</b> has been discovered. Stability of lipases in organic solvents makes them commercially feasibile in the enzymatic esterification reactions. Their stability is affected by temperature, reaction medium, water concentration and by the biocatalyst's preparation. An optimization process for ester synthesis from pilot scale to industrial scale in the reaction medium is discussed. The water released during the esterification process can be controlled over a wide range and has a profound effect on the activity of the <b>lipases</b>. Approaches to <b>lipase</b> catalysis like protein engineering, directed evolution and metagenome approach were studied. This review reports the recent development in the field of <b>non-aqueous microbial lipase</b> catalysis and factors controlling the esterification/transesterification processes in organic <b>media</b>.