In
the previous studies, gemini lipoamino acids (GLAA) were always synthesized
by complex multistep organic synthesis, which involved a large number
of byproducts and organic solvents. To develop a straightforward,
efficient, and renewable synthesis strategy for GLAA, in this study,
a type of novel green solvents, natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs),
were adopted as the solvents for these reactions. Five commercial
enzymes were involved in the enzyme screening section, and Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) tended to have
the best performance in NADESs systems. The optimization procedure
was performed using the Taguchi crossed array method and the highest
yield of GLAA (59.14 ± 0.51%) was obtained in choline chloride–glycerol
(C–Gly). The purification procedure was carried out with ethyl
acetate and water, and the isolate yield ranged from 86.31 ±
2.36 to 91.34 ± 2.26%. With 10 times recycling, the yield of
GLAA in C–Gly decreased from 59.14 ± 0.51 to 51.31 ±
0.68%. Interestingly,
a synergistic effect of CALB and NADESs was found in the enzymatic
synthesis of GLAA, which can be attributed to fatty acids being activated
by chloride ions via hydrogen-bonding interactions and resulting in
an enhancement in its electron-attracting ability.