Microbial lipases: advances in production, purification, biochemical characterization, and multifaceted applications in industry and medicine

Abstract

Lipases are biocatalysts of significant industrial and medical relevance, owing to their ability to hydrolyze lipid substrates and catalyze esterification reactions under mild conditions. This review provides a comprehensive overview of microbial lipases' production, purification, and biochemical properties. It explores optimized fermentation strategies to enhance enzyme yield, including using agro-industrial residues as substrates. The challenges associated with purification techniques such as ultrafiltration, chromatography, and precipitation are discussed, alongside methods to improve enzyme stability and specificity. Additionally, the review addresses the growing importance of genetic engineering approaches for improving lipase characteristics, such as activity, stability, and specificity.Additionally, this review highlights the diverse applications of microbial lipases in industries, including food, pharmaceuticals, biofuels, and cosmetics. The enzyme's role in bioremediation, biodegradation, and the synthesis of bioactive compounds is analyzed, emphasizing its potential in sustainable and eco-friendly technologies. The biocatalytic properties of lipases make them ideal candidates for the green chemistry initiatives in these industries. In the biomedical domain, lipase has shown promise in drug delivery systems, anti-obesity treatments, and diagnostics.This review provides insights into the strategic development of microbes as microbial cell factories for the sustainable production of lipases, paving the way for future research and industrial innovations in enzyme technology.

Keywords: Agro-industrial residues; Biocatalysts; Biodegradation; Biofuels; Biomedical applications; Bioremediation; Cosmetics; Drug delivery; Enzyme production; Enzyme stability; Enzyme technology; Fermentation strategies; Lipases; Microbial lipases; Purification techniques.

Fig. 1

The production of lipase enzyme from P. aeruginosa isolate using olive oil as a substrate in the phenol red agar (a) control medium showed the red color before growth, (b) showed growth of the microorganism at the center of the medium and change in the color of the pH-indicator (phenol red) into the yellow color due to lipase production

Fig. 2

Production of lipase enzyme from P. aeruginosa strain by submerged fermentation process using ethidium bromide for random mutagenesis

Fig. 3

Schematic diagram showing the steps of lipase production and purification from bacterial strain until obtaining a pure lipase extract [36]

Fig. 4

A simple schematic diagram clarifies the effect of lipase enzyme on biofilm

Fig. 5

(A) flow cytometry data of (a) control Hep-G2 cells and (b) microbial lipase-treated cells showing move of the affected cells towards late apoptosis. (Q1) denotes necrosis phase, (Q2) refers to late apoptosis stage, (Q3) means normal cells and (Q4) shows early apoptosis stage

Fig. 6

Lipase isolation and acting as biosensor [81]

Fig. 7

Applications of lipase in health and industry [25]