Chemical transesterification

Many carbohydrate-based fat substitutes are mixtures of sucrose esters formed by chemical transesterification or interesterification of sucrose with one to eight FAs. The class with six to eight FAs are called sucrose FA polyesters. These molecules are too large to be broken down by intestinal lipase enzymes and, for that reason, do not show any caloric value (Voragen, 1998). 

Hydrolysis of vinyl acetate is catalyzed by acidic and basic catalysts to form acetic acid and vinyl alcohol which rapidly tautomerizes to acetaldehyde. This rate of hydrolysis of vinyl acetate is 1000 times that of its saturated analogue, ethyl acetate, ia alkaline media (15). The rate of hydrolysis is minimal at pH 4.44 (16). Other chemical reactions which vinyl acetate may undergo are addition across the double bond, transesterification to other vinyl esters, and oxidation (15—21). 

Higher molecular primary unbranched or low-branched alcohols are used not only for the synthesis of nonionic but also of anionic surfactants, like fatty alcohol sulfates or ether sulfates. These alcohols are produced by catalytic high-pressure hydrogenation of the methyl esters of fatty acids, obtained by a transesterification reaction of fats or fatty oils with methanol or by different procedures, like hydroformylation or the Alfol process, starting from petroleum chemical raw materials. 

Lipases also catalyze the intramolecular transesterification (lactonization) of hydroxy esters. Macrolactonization of a racemic hydroxy ester in the presence of PSL provided the corresponding (R)-lactone (Figure 6.22). This compound is the naturally occurring enantiomer of the pheromone produced by the merchant grain beetle [70]. Chemical macrolactonizations require high dilution to minimize... 

Polypropionate chains with alternating methyl and hydroxy substituents are structural elements of many natural products with a broad spectrum of biological activities (e.g. antibiotic, antitumor). The anti-anti stereotriad is symmetric but is the most elusive one. Harada and Oku described the synthesis and the chemical desymmetrization of meso-polypropionates [152]. More recently, the problem of enantiotopic group differentiation was solved by enzymatic transesterification. The synthesis of the acid moiety of the marine polypropionate dolabriferol (Figure 6.58a) and the elaboration of the C(19)-C(27) segment of the antibiotic rifamycin S (Figure 6.58b) involved desymmetrization of meso-polypropionates [153,154]. 

The effect of incorporating p-hydroxybenzoic acid (I) into the structures of various unsaturated polyesters synthesised from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste depolymerised by glycolysis at three different diethylene glycol (DEG) ratios with Mn acetate as transesterification catalyst, was studied. Copolyesters of PET modified using various I mole ratios showed excellent mechanical and chemical properties because of their liquid crystalline behaviour. The oligoesters obtained from the twelve modified unsaturated polyesters (MUP) were reacted with I and maleic anhydride, with variation of the I ratio with a view to determining the effect on mechanical... 

In order to convert the raw oils into useful material, transesterification technology is used. The oil is reacted with a low molecular weight alcohol, commonly methanol, in the presence of a catalyst to form the fatty acid ester and glycerol (Scheme 6.1). The ester is subsequently separated from the glycerol and used as biodiesel, the glycerol being used as a raw material for fine chemicals production. Although the chemistry is simple, in order to make biodiesel commercially viable the process must be... 

Cutinase is a hydrolytic enzyme that degrades cutin, the cuticular polymer of higher plants [4], Unlike the oflier lipolytic enzymes, such lipases and esterases, cutinase does not require interfacial activation for substrate binding and activity. Cutinases have been largely exploited for esterification and transesterification in chemical synthesis [5] and have also been applied in laundry or dishwashing detergent [6]. 

The transesterification reaction can be attributed to the perturbation of the ester carbonyl group in the [CDc/o5e< -substrate] complex. The possibility of this side reaction was predicted by earlier quantum-chemical calculations [18]. These results indicated that the reaction pocket in methyl pyruvate for the nucleophilic attack is situated between the two carbonyl groups, i.e. both carbonyl groups can be perturbed by a nucleophile provided both carbonyl groups have the right "directionality". However, the right "directionality" for both carbonyl groups can be obtained if they are in syn position. 

Biomass is a renewable resource from which various useful chemicals and fuels can be produced. Glycerol, obtained as a co-product of the transesterification of vegetable oils to produce biodiesel, is a potential building block to be processed in biorefineries (1,2). Attention has been recently paid to the conversion of glycerol to chemicals, such as propanediols (3, 4), acrolein (5, 6), or glyceric acid (7, 8). 

Sophisticated instrumental techniques are continually being developed and gradually replace the classical wet chemistry analytical methods. Wet chemical analysis is destructive the sample is dissolved or altered. Nowadays the analyst is highly focused on instrumental methods and chemometrics. Yet, chemical work-up methods (e.g. hydrolysis with alcoholic alkali, alkali fusion, aminolysis, and transesterification, etc.) and other wet laboratory skills should not be forgotten. 

An alternative to the extraction of intact PHA polymer is the isolation of PHA monomers, oligomers, or various derivatives such as esters [74]. PH As are composed of stereo-chemically pure P-3-hydroxyacids, and therefore can be used as a source of optically pure organic substrates for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry [79]. In this protocol, the defatted cake containing PHA polymer would be chemically treated to obtain the PHA derivatives. For example, transesterification of the meal with methanol would give rise to methyl esters of 3-hydroxyalkanoic acids. The PHA derivatives would then be separated from the meal with appropriate solvents. One potential disadvantage of this method is the potential alteration of the quality of the residual meal if the harsh chemical treatments required for the production of PHA derivatives lead to protein or amino acid breakdown. 

Syntheses of aliphatic polyesters by fermentation and chemical processes have been extensively studied from the viewpoint of biodegradable materials science. Recently, another approach to their production has been made by using an isolated lipase or esterase as catalyst via non-biosynthetic pathways under mild reaction conditions. Lipase and esterase are enzymes which catalyze hydrolysis of esters in an aqueous environment in living systems. Some of them can act as catalyst for the reverse reactions, esterifications and transesterifications, in organic media [1-5]. These catalytic actions have been expanded to... 

Biodiesel (fatty acid methyl ester (FAME)) production is based on transesterification of vegetable oils and fats through the addition of methanol (or other alcohols) and a catalyst, giving glycerol as a by-product (which can be used for cosmetics, medicines and food). Oil-seed crops include rapeseeds, sunflower seeds, soy beans and palm oil seeds, from which the oil is extracted chemically or mechanically. Biodiesel can be used in 5%-20% blends with conventional diesel, or even in pure form, which requires slight modifications in the vehicle. 

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