Biodiesel synthesis assisted by ultrasonication using engineered thermo-stable Proteus vulgaris lipase

Abstract

Nature has evolved and designed enzymes to perform an exquisite array of tasks, but in the pursuit of biotechnological interests, these enzymes must often be improved, altered, or even completely redesigned. In the present work, production of biodiesel was carried out using Neem oil and methanol catalysed by “engineered” Proteus vulgaris lipase (PVL). Two major issues have been addressed in this study in order to improve the efficiency of biodiesel synthesis by enzyme catalysis. The thermal stability of PVL was increased by introduction of a disulfide bond in G181 and T238 by mutation to cysteines. The transesterification reaction was carried out using sonication under different ultrasonic e..