Enzymes in lipid modification: From classical biocatalysis with commercial enzymes to advanced protein engineering tools

Institute of Biochemistry, Department of Biotechnology, Enzyme Catalysis, Greifswald University, Felix-Hausdorff-straße 4, 17487 Greifswald, Germany

^* uwe.bornscheuer@uni-greifswald.de

Received: 11 October 2012
Accepted: 30 October 2012

Abstract

In this review, the application of enzymes, especially lipases, for the modification of fats and oils is covered. This includes the lipase-catalyzed selective production of structured triglycerides and the isolation or incorporation of specific fatty acids. Protein engineering methods to modify lipases on a molecular level were used to alter the fatty acid chain-length and ‘‘trans over cis’’ selectivity of lipase A from Candida antarctica. Furthermore, an enzymatic cascade reaction to remove 3-monochloropropanediol and the identification of a phospholipase C for degumming are briefly covered.