7.3.1 ‘Self’-epoxidation of unsaturated fatty acids
If an unsaturated fatty acid is treated with H 2 O 2 in the presence of NovozymÒ435,
‘self’-epoxidation occurs (Warwel and Ru ̈sch gen. Klaas, 1995). The principle of this
reaction is shown in Figure 2, using oleic acid as an example.
First, the unsaturated fatty acid is converted to an unsaturated peroxy fatty acid,
and only this step is catalyzed by the lipase. Subsequently, the unsaturated peroxy
7.3 Lipase-mediated lipid oxidations 119
Figure 1. The mechanism of chemo-enzymatic epoxidation (Bjo ̈rkling et al., 1990).
Figure 2. Chemo-enzymatic ‘self’-epoxidation of unsaturated fatty acids by NovozymÒ435/H 2 O 2.