Kinetic study on hydrolysis of oils by lipase with ultrasonic emulsification

The hydrolysis of oil by lipase takes place at the interface between the oil and the aqueous solution containing the enzyme. For such systems, interfacial area between the oil phase and the aqueous phase influences the rate of hydrolysis. In this study, to enhance the hydrolysis rates of lipids, ultrasonication instead of mechanical agitation was used for interfacial area generation. By ultrasonication, larger interfacial area with much narrower distribution of oil droplet diameter could be produced as compared to by mechanical agitation. Experiments carried out to assess the hydrolysis rate of lipids showed that it was significantly enhanced by ultrasonic emulsification and the interfacial area saturation with enzyme was also not observed due to large interfacial area generated.