Phyllosilicate sol-gel immobilized lipases for the formation of partial acylglycerides**

Lipase PS-30 (pseudomonas cepacia) and Lipase F (Rhizopus oryzae), immobilized within a phyllosilicate sol-gel matrix, catalyzed the esterification of glycerol with short, medium and long-chain fatty acids to produce mono (MAG), di (DAG) and tri (TAG) acylglycerols. The results from the above esterification reactions were compared to reactions using a commercially available immobilized lipase, Lipozyme IM-60. Time course studies showed that free Lipase PS-30 or Lipase F enhanced esterification reactions with the use of silica-supported glycerol. In contrast, immobilized Lipase PS-30-catalyzed reactions occurred at the same conversion rate when using either free or silica-supported glycerol. For immobilized Lipase F and Lipozyme IM-60 reactions, the use of silica-supported glycerol favored the production of DAG and TAG over MAG. All three immobilized lipases could be reused for acylglycerol production.