Bioconversion of linoleic acid into conjugated linoleic acid by immobilized Lactobacillus reuteri.

Lactobacillus reuteri was immobilized on silica gel to evaluate the bioconversion of linoleic acid (LA) into conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), consisting of cis-9,trans-11 and trans-10,cis-12 isomers. The amount of cell to carrier, the reaction time, and the substrate concentration, pH, and temperature for CLA production were optimized at 10 mg of cells/(g of carrier), 1 h, 500 mg/L LA, 10.5, and 55 degrees C, respectively. In the presence of 1.0 mM Cu(2+), CLA production increased by 110%. Under the optimal conditions, the immobilized cells produced 175 mg/L CLA from 500 mg/L LA for 1 h with a productivity of 175 mg/(L.h) and accumulated 5.5 times more CLA than that obtained from bioconversion by free washed cells. The CLA-producing ability of reused cells was investigated over five reuse reactions and was maximal at pH 7.5, 25 degrees C, and 1.0 mM Cu(2+). The total amount of CLA by the combined five reuse reactions was 344 mg of CLA/L reaction volume. This was 8.6 times higher than the amount obtained from reuse reactions by free washed cells.