Evaluation of deep eutectic solvent–water binary mixtures for lipase-catalyzed lipophilization of phenolic acids

This work reports the first lipase-catalyzed reactions between substrates of different polarities using deep eutectic solvents as a medium. The model reaction consisted of a lipophilization process based on the alcoholysis of phenolic esters using immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B as a biocatalyst. Results showed that water could dramatically improve the lipase activity and change the reactivity of phenolic substrates. Indeed, very low conversions (<2%) were observed in pure DES, whereas in DES–water binary mixtures, quantitative conversions were achieved. After investigating the role of various parameters, such as the substrate concentration and ratio, pH or thermodynamic activity of water, the effect of the presence of water in pure DES based on urea or glycerol was discussed. In this paper, we propose new perspectives for the enzymatic modification of polar substrates using this novel generation of green, inexpensive and easy-to-handle solvents.