Phase-Specific Immobilization of Phospholipase D as an Efficient Pickering Emulsion Interfacial Catalyst for Converting Antarctic Krill Oil Phospholipid

Abstract

Phosphatidylserine (PS), a rare phospholipid in Antarctic krill oil (AKO) critical for brain development, can be produced from the abundant phosphatidylcholine (PC) using phospholipase D (PLD) in Pickering emulsion interfacial catalysis (PIC) systems. However, the exposure of PLD to organic solvent around the emulsion interface diminished PLD activity, limiting the conversion efficiency of PS. In this study, we proposed a strategy to fabricate a PIC system with high efficiency and stability by immobilizing PLD in a specific phase on the emulsion interface, based on investigating the effect of the interfacial microenvironment on PLD activity. Janus-poly(acrylic acid)/polystyrene (JPP) and Janus-polyethylenimine/octadecane (JPO) particles were fabricated as carriers to realize the specific-phase immobilization of PLD. The highest activity was observed when PLD was immobilized on the hydrophilic side of JPP (PLD@JPP(W)), 1.9-fold that of free PLD. The catalytic efficiency of PLD@JPP(W) was 1.7-fold that of free PLD, confirmed by the k cat /K m value enhancement. Immobilization on the hydrophilic side also enhanced the thermal stability of PLD. The half-lives of PLD were extended from 4 to 36 h at 40 °C and from 6 to 28 days at 4 °C. Importantly, PLD@JPP(W) showed excellent catalytic efficiency as a PIC system, achieving a PS productivity of 93% within a short time of 2 h at an enzyme dosage of 0.05 mg. PLD@JPP(W) exhibited a 3.6 times higher yield than free PLD in the production of PS from PC rich in Antarctic krill oil. The strategy in this work could also be applied to other lipases, providing a promising method for the efficient conversion of functional lipids.