Ester Production Using the Lipid Composition of Coffee Ground Oil (Coffea arabica): A Theoretical Study of Eversa® Transform 2.0 Lipase as an Enzymatic Biocatalyst

Abstract

The scientific community recognizes coffee grounds (Coffea arabica) as an important biological residue, which led to using the Eversa® Transform 2.0 lipase as an in silico enzymatic catalyst for coffee grounds’ free fatty acids (FFA). Molecular modeling studies, including molecular docking, were performed, which revealed the structures of the lipase and showed the primary interactions between the ligands and the amino acid residues in the active site of the enzyme. Of the ligands tested, 6,9-methyl octadienoate had the best free energy of −6.1 kcal/mol, while methyl octadecenoate and methyl eicosanoate had energies of −5.7 kcal/mol. Molecular dynamics confirmed the stability of the bonds with low Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) values. The MMGBSA study showed that methyl octadecenoate had the best free energy estimate, and CASTp identified key active sites for potential enzyme immobilization in experimental studies. Overall, this study provides efficient and promising results for future experimental investigations, showing a classification of oils present in coffee grounds and their binding affinity with Eversa.