A Smart Bioconjugate of Alginate and Pectinase with Unusual Biological Activity toward Chitosan

The commercial preparation of pectinase (Pectinex Ultra SP-L) was conjugated to alginate by noncovalent interactions by employing 1% alginate during the conjugation protocol. The optimum "immobilization efficiency" was 0.76. The pH optimum and the thermal stability of the enzyme remained unchanged upon conjugation with alginate. The soluble bioconjugate showed a 3-fold increase in V(max)/K(m) as compared to the free enzyme when the smart biocatalyst was used for chitosan hydrolysis. Time course hydrolysis of chitosan thus showed higher conversion of chitosan into reducing oligosaccharides/sugars. The smart bioconjugate could be reused five times without any detectable loss of chitosanase activity.

Simultaneous purification and immobilization of Aspergillus niger xylanase on the reversibly soluble polymer Eudragit(TM) L-100

The non-covalent immobilization of a commercial preparation of xylanase from A. niger was carried out on a reversibly soluble-insoluble enteric polymer Eudragit(TM) L-100. The immobilization of the xylanase activity by adsorption was simultaneously accompanied by removal of cellulase activity since the latter did not bind to the polymer. Thus, the soluble enzyme derivative may be useful for treatment of paper pulp bleaching in paper industry. The immobilized xylanase retained 60% of its activity toward xylan as the substrate. No change was observed in the pH optimum (5.5) of the enzyme upon immobilization. Only marginal increase in the K(m) of the free enzyme (3.6 mg ml(-1) to 5.0 mg ml(-1)) upon immobilization on the soluble polymer reflected that the enzyme-substrate binding continues to be efficient in spite of the macromolecular nature of the substrate. Fluorescence spectroscopy and UV difference spectroscopy were used to probe the change(s) in the enzyme structure upon immobilization. This change in structure was correlated with the "effectiveness factor" of the enzyme activity. CD spectra also showed that the enzyme undergoes drastic changes in the structure.

Exploiting unusual affinity of usual polysaccharides for separation of enzymes on fluidized beds

Two polysaccharides, alginate and chitosan, showed unusual affinity and bound alpha-amylase (from various sources) and Aspergillus niger cellulase, respectively. The beads prepared from these polymers were successfully used for the purification of the respective enzymes by fluidized bed affinity chromatography. alpha-amylase from wheat germ could be purified by 58-fold with about 90% recovery of activity. Aspergillus niger cellulase, on the other hand, was purified by 30-fold with 80% recovery of enzyme activity. Both purified preparations show single band on SDS-PAGE.

Alginate beads as an affinity material for alpha amylases

Calcium-alginate beads were found to bind a variety of enzymes in a nonspecific fashion. However, alpha amylases from porcine pancreas, Bacillus subtilis (BAN 240L) and wheat germ bound at a significant level and B. subtilis and wheat germ amylases could be eluted with 1M maltose. The wheat germ alpha amylase could be purified 45 fold with 70% recovery. The SDS-PAGE pattern showed significant purification by this single step strategy.