The combined use of ultrasound and molecular sieves improves the synthesis of ethyl butyrate catalyzed by immobilized Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase

In this work, the combined use of ultrasound energy and molecular sieves was investigated for the synthesis of ethyl butyrate, ester with mango and banana notes, catalyzed by the immobilized lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus (Lipozyme TL-IM). Initially, the best concentrations of biocatalysts (35%) and butyric acid (0.7 M) were tested using ultrasound as an alternative to mechanical agitation. The amount of acid in the reaction could be increased by 2-fold when compared to previous works where mechanical agitation was used. In the next step, substrate molar ratio and reaction temperature were optimized and the best conditions were at their lowest levels: 1:1 (acid:alcohol), and 30 °C, reaching 61% of conversion in 6 h. Molecular sieves (3 Å) were added to optimized reaction medium in order to remove the formed water and improve the maximum yield. The reaction yield increased 1.5 times, reaching 90% of conversion in 6 h, when 60 mg of molecular sieves per mmol of butyric acid was used. Finally, the reuse of Lipozyme TL-IM for the ultrasound-assisted synthesis of ethyl butyrate was verified for 10 batches, without any appreciable loss of activity, whereas in systems using mechanical agitation, the biocatalyst was completely inactivated after 5 batches. These results suggest that the combined use of ultrasound and molecular sieves greatly improve esterification reactions by stabilizing the enzyme and increasing yields.This work was supported by grants and scholarships (first and second authors) from FAPERGS (Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Rio Grande do Sul – ARD/2011), CNPq (Brazilian Bureau of Science and Technology), and CTQ2009-07568 (Ministerio de Ciencia y Innovación, Spain).Peer Reviewe

Use of Lecitase-Ultra immobilized on styrene-divinylbenzene beads as catalyst of esterification reactions: Effects of ultrasounds

In this work it was evaluated for the first time, the ester synthesis catalyzed by the phospholipase Lecitase-Ultra immobilized styrene-divinylbenzene beads (MCI-Lecitase), comparing the mechanical stirring and the ultrasonic energy. It was studied the specificity of the enzyme using carboxylic acids from C4 to C18, as well as the effects of alcohol chain, organic solvents, biocatalyst content, reaction temperature and substrate concentration. Caprylic and myristic acids were those with the highest reaction rates and yields, using ethanol as substrate. The shorter the alcohol chain, the higher the enzyme activity. Regarding the secondary alcohols, while MCI-Lecitase had no activity versus isopropanol, using 2-pentanol the activity was similar to that with 1-pentanol. Comparing the agitation systems, MCI-Lecitase presented an initial reaction rate more than 2-times higher in the ultrasound-assisted reaction than under traditional mechanical stirring. Moreover, under ultrasonic energy the maximum rate was achieved using 0.5 M of substrates, while under mechanical stirring the maximum enzyme activity was reached at 0.3 M of substrates. Concerning the operational stability, MCI-Lecitase was quite unstable, losing its activity after 6 reaction cycles. By adding molecular sieves in the reaction medium, MCI-Lecitase retained 30% of its initial activity after 6 cycles.This work was supported by grants and scholarships (JA Silva, N Paludo and D Danelli) from FAPERGS (Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Rio Grande do Sul – ARD/2011), CNPq (Brazilian Bureau of Science and Technology), and from the Spanish Government, CTQ2013-41507Peer Reviewe

Ultrasound technology and molecular sieves improve the thermodynamically controlled esterification of butyric acid mediated by immobilized lipase from Rhizomucor miehei

In this research, the effects of ultrasound stirring and the addition of molecular sieves on esterification reactions between butyric acid and several alcohols catalyzed by immobilized lipase from Rhizomucor miehei (Lipozyme RM-IM) were studied. Among the tested alcohols, 1-propanol and isobutanol allowed the highest activities, whereas Lipozyme RM-IM showed poor activities for esterification using secondary and tertiary alcohols. Different solvents were also tested and n-hexane was selected because of its reaction effects, besides being cheaper, available at low boiling point, and ease of recovery. Using the preselected alcohol and solvent, other reaction parameters (butyric acid concentration, temperature, substrate molar rate, and biocatalyst content) were studied to optimize the reaction conditions. Optimal conditions were acid concentration, 0.7 M; substrate molar ratio, 1 : 1 alcohol–acid; temperature 45 °C; biocatalyst content, 14% (by substrate mass). Under these conditions, it was possible to obtain a yield of 86% of butyl butyrate in 2.5 h. When molecular sieves (90 mg mmol−1 butytic acid) were added to the reaction, the observed yield increased to 96%. The biocatalyst was used in 5 successive reaction cycles keeping 100% of its initial activity. The overall process productivity was improved 2-fold when compared to the traditional mechanical agitation, showing that ultrasound is a promising technology for application in biocatalysis.This work was supported by grants and scholarships (JA Silva and N Paludo) from FAPERGS (Fundaçao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Rio Grande do Sul – ARD/2011), CNPq (Brazilian Bureau of Science and Technology), and CTQ2009-07568 (Ministerio de Ciencia y Innovación, Spain). TPeer Reviewe

Transcriptomic profile of two developmental stages of the cestode parasite Mesocestoides corti

Cestode development involves complex morphological and physiological changes. Here, we performed a differential expression analysis of gene transcripts between two developmental stages of the model cestode Mesocestoides corti. A RNA-seq-based approach was used to compare the transcriptomes of the tetrathyridium (larval, TT) and strobilated worm (ST) stages of the parasite. We found 19,053 transcripts, from which ∼45% were complete matches to genes previously annotated in the available M. corti draft genome sequence, ∼24% were considered novel isoforms, and ∼24% were considered potential novel transcripts. Stage-specific transcripts were found for both TTs (66) and STs (136), along with shared transcripts significantly overrepresented in one stage (342 in TTs, and 559 in STs). Differential expression and Gene Ontology term enrichment analyzes provided evidence of upregulation of different sets of transcripts associated with ‘cytoskeleton’ ‘metabolism’ and ‘oxidation-reduction’ processes in each stage, suggesting functional involvement of the corresponding genes with stage-specific features. Transcripts and processes enriched in the TT reflect typical larval processes that occur with the parasite in the intermediate host, such as asexual reproduction and budding, as well as active migration from the peritoneum to the liver and vice versa. In STs, transcripts associated with ‘development’ ‘cell growth’ and ‘morphogenesis’ were enriched, along with processes related to sexual reproduction, represented by the upregulation of numerous transcription factors, protein kinases, and histones. Overall, our results contributed to significantly increase the knowledge on the M. corti gene repertoire and expression profile in two developmental stages. Functional implications for the biology of larval and adult cestode parasites and for host-parasite interactions are discussed.Fil: Basika, T.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Paludo, G.P.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Araujo, F.M.. Fundación Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Salim, A.C.. Fundación Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Pais, F.. Fundación Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Maldonado, Lucas Luciano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica; ArgentinaFil: Macchiaroli, Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica; ArgentinaFil: Camargo de Lima, J.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Rosenzvit, Mara Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica; ArgentinaFil: Oliveira, G.C.. Fundación Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Kamenetzky, Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica; ArgentinaFil: Ferreira, H.B.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasi