Lipase immobilization onto Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNC) for catalyzing lipolysis of triglycerides

Over the past decade, the technology of enzyme immobilization has been developed because it is able to produce reusable immobilized enzymes to reduce production costs. This research aims to synthesize cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) from sugarcane bagasse. The CNC was then used as a matrix in immobilization of lipase to be applied in triglyceride lipolysis. Lipase was immobilized onto CNC through covalent bonding method at 25°C dan pH 7 with immobilization period variation of 0.5–4.5 hours. The immobilized lipase will be utilized to catalyze lipolysis reaction of triglyceride from palm oil, with lipolysis period 2–10 hours, reaction temperature of 25–60°C, and pH of 6.25–11.25. Lipase was successfully immobilized onto CNC so it can be utilized in lipolysis of palm oil with degree of hydrolysis about 10%. The optimum immobilization time and reaction time of lipolysis was 1.5 hours and 6–8 hours, respectively. Both free lipase and immobilized lipase had the optimum temperature at 40°C. In contrast to the optimum temperature, the optimum pH of the lipolysis reaction using free lipase is different from that of lipolysis using immobilized lipase. The optimum pH of lipolysis using free lipase is pH 7.25, while the optimum pH for reaction using immobilized lipase is shifted to pH 8.25.