Kinetics of the lipase-catalyzed synthesis of glucose esters in acetone

A simple kinetic model derived from a ping‐pong bi‐bi mechanism is proposed to describe the lipase‐catalyzed esterification of glucose with fatty acids. The mathematical expressions derived from this model have been tested using several sets of data obtained from reactions carried out under different reaction conditions. The predicted values provide very good fits of the experimental data for temperatures from 30 to 60°C, enzyme loadings from 90 to 180 mg, and fatty acid concentrations from 0.33M to 1M. Experiments conducted at different temperatures permit one to estimate an activation energy of ∼12 kcal/mol for the rate‐limiting step of the reaction (formation of the acyl‐enzyme complex). The model also considers the kinetics of inactivation of the biocatalyst during the reaction. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 73: 104–110, 2001.