Menthol and Fatty Acid-Based Hydrophobic Deep Eutectic Solvents as Media for Enzyme Activation
Amal A.M. Elgharbawy, Sharifah Shahira Syed Putra, Huma Warsi Khan, Nor Azrini Nadiha Azmi, Muhamad Shirwan Abdullah Sani, Nazurah Ab llah, Adeeb Hayyan, Jegalakshimi Jewaratnam, Wan Jeffrey Basirun
Abstract
This research aims to provide insights into the biological efficacy of a newly formed hydrophobic deep eutectic solvent (DES). A DES based on menthol was successfully synthesized with fatty acids. The DESs’ properties as enzyme activators were examined against a neat counterpart. The menthol:decanoic acid (1:1) combination showed improved thermal stability, strong catalytic activity, and reusability for up to four subsequent cycles under ideal conditions (pH 7.0, 40 °C for 2 h). The hydrophobic DES replaced hexane in ester synthesis, where RNL@DES5 showed better fatty acid conversion compared to neat RNL. This study demonstrated promising applications of hydrophobic DESs in non-aqueous organic reactions.