Table 5 Studies on the substrate selectivity for fatty acids with different chain length or unsaturated degree

Carbon chain length

Hydrolysis/fatty acid ethyl esters (C4–C18)

Novozym 435

Short chain fatty acid ethyl esters

[62]

Esterification/fatty acids (C4–C18) with ethanol

Short and long chain fatty acids

Alcoholysis/TAGs (C4–C18) with ethanol

TAGs with short chain

Esterification/xylose and SFAs (C12/C16)

Lipozyme 435

Non-modified L435:C16; polyethyleneimine coated L435:C12

Esterification/SFAs (C4–C18) with aliphatic alcohols

Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase immobilized on mesoporous SiO₂

Fatty acids with more than seven carbon atoms

[69]

Esterification/SFAs (C2–C10, C18) with aliphatic alcohols (C2–C12, C16)

Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase immobilized into mesoporous silica

Fatty acids with more than seven carbon atoms

[61]

Esterification/SFAs (C7/C18) with aliphatic alcohols

rPichia/lip lipase immobilized on aggregated carbon nanotubes

C7:0

[70]

Hydrolysis/acyl p-nitrophenyl esters and TAGs (C2–C16)

Malbranchea cinnamomea lipase

Acyl p-nitrophenyl esters and triglycerides with short and medium carbon chain

[63]

Hydrolysis/triglycerides (C4–C18)

Lipase from Proteus vulgaris OR34

Short and medium chain fatty acids

[64]

Hydrolysis/acyl p-nitrophenyl esters (C2–C18)

Lipases from Geobacillus thermocatenulatus

Est29: short chain fatty acids (C4–C8); Lip29: LCFAs (C12–C16)

[71]

Hydrolysis/esters

Lipases from different sources

Lipases from S₃ Penicillium citrinum, MJ₁ Aspergillus niger, MJ₂ Aspergillus oryzae, YM Bacillus coughing, S₉ Geotrichum candidum, S₁₁ Candida lypolytica: short-chain esters; lipases from M₂ Mucor racemosus, Y-11 Trichosporon capitatum, J_8-2 Rhizopus oryzae: medium or long chain and branched esters

[59]

Double bond

Hydrolysis/cod liver and linseed oils

Candida rugosa lipase; Candida antarctica lipase B; Thermomyces lanuginosa lipase

SFA > MUFA > PUFA; all three lipases did’t discriminate against ALA

[72]

Hydrolysis/vegetable oils

Lipase from Penicillium citrinum URM 4216

Unsaturated fatty acids, such as OA and LA

[73]

Hydrolysis/high-acidity vegetable oils

Lipase from castor bean seeds

Vegetable oils rich in PUFAs

[74]

Hydrolysis/fish oil glycerides

OUC-Lipase 6

MUFA > SFA > PUFA

[75]

Transesterification/2-MAG with EPA-EE/DHA-EE

Novozym 435; Novozym 40,086; Lipozyme TL IM

EPA-EE

[76]