Bioconversion study of dodecanedioic acid from fatty acid and its ester derivatives using Candida tropicalis

In this study, the effect of fermentation substrate and its concentration on cell growth and dodecanedioic acid (3DA) production by wild type Candida tropicalis isolated from Ambarella fruit shells in Indonesia was studied. The types of substrate (lauric acid and methyl laurate) and their concentrations (1, 3, 5 g/L) were varied. The addition of 1.67%-v/v of surfactant Tween-80 increased the solubility of lauric acid and methyl laurate by 13% and 91%, respectively, as measured by gas chromatography. The added substrates were then utilized by C. tropicalis for its growth, whereby the maximum biomass concentration measured by spectrophotometry was attained in methyl laurate system on the last day of experiment (day 5 of bioconversion phase). The cell growth was followed by 3DA production in which the maximum yield was obtained on the fourth day after substrate addition. The maximum 3DA yield of 0.247 g-3DA/g-dissolved substrate was obtained with lauric acid while the maximum 3DA yield for methyl laurate was 0.144 g-3DA/g-dissolved substrate. This research showed potential for 3DA synthesis by using naturally available renewable resources to the fullest instead of using non-renewable petrochemical resources.