Enzymatic esterification and phase behavior in ionic microemulsions with different alcohols

The esterification of hexanoic acid and 1-pentanol catalyzed by the lipase fromChromobacterium viscosum was studied at 298.2 K using different Winsor systems as reaction medium. The microemulsion systems consisted of brine and alkane stabilized by the anionic surfactant sodium dodecylsulphate and a short-chained alcohol. The alcohol acts both as a reactant and as a part of the reaction medium. Therefore, it is of great fundamental interest to know the phase behavior of the used microemulsion systems. Partial phase diagrams were determined and the efficiency of different alcohols on the transition from a Winsor I system to a Winsor III or a Winsor IV system with bicontinuous structure and further to a Winsor II system was investigated. The investigated alcohols were 2-methyl-1-propanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 1-pentanol, 2-pentanol, 3-pentanol, 2-methyl-1-pentanol, 3-methyl-1-pentanol, 4-methyl-1-pentanol, and 1-hexanol. The aqueous medium consisted of 0.5 m NaCl(aq) or a phosphate buffer (pH=7) and the organic medium of octane or 2,2,4-trimethyl pentane. A long alkyl chain of the alcohol or a branching far from the hydroxyl group gives a more efficient cosurfactant and a transition from Winsor I to Winsor III or Winsor IV at lower alcohol contents. In the Winsor III system the yield of 1-pentyl hexanoate is twice as high as the yield in the bicontinuous Winsor IV system.