Improving the stability of cellulase by immobilization on modified polyvinyl alcohol coated chitosan beads

Fabrication, characterization and application of pectin degrading Fe3O4-SiO2 nanobiocatalyst

The covalent binding of pectinase onto amino functionalized silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles (CSMNPs) through glutaraldehyde activation was investigated for nanobiocatalyst fabrication. The average particle size and morphology of the nanoparticles were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The statistical analysis for TEM image suggests that the coating and binding process did not cause any significant change in size of MNPs. The morphological and phase change of the magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) after various coatings and immobilization were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. The various surface modifications and pectinase binding onto nanoparticles were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The maximum activity of immobilized pectinase was obtained at its weight ratio of 19.0×10(-3) mg bound pectinase/mg CSMNPs. The pH, temperature, reusability, storage ability and kinetic studies were established to monitor their improved stability and activity of the fabricated nanobiocatalyst. Furthermore, the application was extended in the clarification of Malus domestica juice.

Preparation of a Cu(II)-PVA/PA6 composite nanofibrous membrane for enzyme immobilization

PVA/PA6 composite nanofibers were formed by electrospinning. Cu(II)-PVA/PA6 metal chelated nanofibers, prepared by the reaction between PVA/PA6 composite nanofibers and Cu²⁺ solution, were used as the support for catalase immobilization. The result of the experiments showed that PVA/PA6 composite nanofibers had an excellent chelation capacity for Cu²⁺ ions, and the structures of nanofibers were stable during the reaction with Cu²⁺ solution. The adsorption of Cu(II) onto PVA/PA6 composite nanofibers was studied by the Langmuir isothermal adsorption model. The maximum amount of coordinated Cu(II) (q_m) was 3.731 mmol/g (dry fiber), and the binding constant (K_l) was 0.0593 L/mmol. Kinetic parameters were analyzed for both immobilized and free catalases. The value of V_max (3774 μmol/mg·min) for the immobilized catalases was smaller than that of the free catalases (4878 μmol/mg·min), while the K_m for the immobilized catalases was larger. The immobilized catalases showed better resistance to pH and temperature than that of free form, and the storage stabilities, reusability of immobilized catalases were significantly improved. The half-lives of free and immobilized catalases were 8 days and 24 days, respectively.

Effects of low intensity ultrasound on cellulase pretreatment

This research was to explore the mechanism of ultrasonic impact on free cellulase activity and immobilize cellulase activities. The highest free cellulase activity was achieved when the sample was treated with low intensity ultrasound at 15 W, 24 kHz for 10 min, under which the enzyme activity was increased by 18.17% over the control. Fluorescence and CD spectra revealed that the ultrasonic treatment had increased the number of tryptophan on cellulase surface slightly, with the deformation of certain number of α-helix structure and increase of random coil content in cellulase protein. The highest immobilized cellulase activity was achieved when the sample was treated with low intensity ultrasound at 60 W, 24 kHz for 10 min, under which the enzyme activity was increased by 24.67% over the control. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the ultrasonic treatment had increased the surface area of immobilized cellulase.

Enhancement of the activity and enantioselectivity of lipase by sol-gel encapsulation immobilization onto β-cyclodextrin-based polymer

Candida rugosa lipase was encapsulated within a chemically inert sol-gel support prepared by polycondensation with tetraethoxysilane and octyltriethoxysilane in the presence of β-cyclodextrin-based polymer. The catalytic activity of the encapsulated lipases was evaluated both in the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenylpalmitate and the enantioselective hydrolysis of racemic Naproxen methyl ester. It has been observed that the percent activity yield of the encapsulated lipase was 65 U/g, which is 7.5 times higher than that of the covalently immobilized lipase. The β-cyclodextrin-based encapsulated lipases had higher conversion and enantioselectivity compared with covalently immobilized lipase. The study confirms an excellent enantioselectivity (E >300) for the encapsulated lipase with an enantiomeric excess value of 98% for S-naproxen.

Enantioselective enzymatic hydrolysis of racemic drugs by encapsulation in sol-gel magnetic sporopollenin

Candida rugosa lipase was encapsulated within a sol-gel procedure and improved considerably by fluoride-catalyzed hydrolysis of mixtures of octyltriethoxysilane and tetraethoxysilane in the presence of magnetic sporopollenin. The catalytic properties of the immobilized lipases were evaluated into model reactions, i.e., the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenylpalmitate (p-NPP), and the enantioselective hydrolysis of racemic naproxen methyl ester, mandelic acid methyl ester or 2-phenoxypropionic acid methyl ester that were studied in aqueous buffer solution/isooctane reaction system. The encapsulated magnetic sporopollenin (Spo-M-E) was found to give 319 U/g of support with 342% activity yield. It has been observed that the percent activity yields and enantioselectivity of the magnetic sporopollenin encapsulated lipase were higher than that of the encapsulated lipase without support. The substrate specificity of the encapsulated lipase revealed more efficient hydrolysis of the racemic naproxen methyl ester and 2-phenoxypropionic acid methyl ester than racemic mandelic acid methyl ester. It was observed that excellent enantioselectivity (E > 400) was obtained for encapsulated lipase with magnetic sporopollenin with an ee value of S-Naproxen and R-2 phenoxypropionic acid about 98%.

Hydrolysis of microalgae cell walls for production of reducing sugar and lipid extraction

In this study, cell walls of microalgae were hydrolyzed for the production of reducing sugar by cellulase, which was immobilized onto an electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibrous membrane. Since the nitrile groups of the PAN membrane were activated by the amidination reaction and covalent binding to the amino groups of the cellulase, electrospun PAN nanofibrous membranes with a high specific surface area were applied as supports for the immobilization. Under the optimal hydrolysis conditions, the immobilized cellulase performed its hydrolyzing conversion at 62%, and the hydrolysis yield remained at 40% after five times of reuse. Additionally, microalgal lipid extraction efficiency increased to around 56% from 32% dramatically after cell wall hydrolysis. These results demonstrate the efficacy and feasibility of the proposed applications in hydrolysis process followed with lipid extraction.

A comparison of covalent immobilization and physical adsorption of a cellulase enzyme mixture

This paper reports the first use of a linker-free covalent approach for immobilizing an enzyme mixture. Adsorption from a mixture is difficult to control due to varying kinetics of adsorption, variations in the degree of unfolding and competitive binding effects. We show that surface activation by plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) produces a mildly hydrophilic surface that covalently couples to protein molecules and avoids these issues, allowing the attachment of a uniform monolayer from a cellulase enzyme mixture. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that the surface layer of the physically adsorbed cellulase layer on the mildly hydrophobic surface (without PIII) consisted of aggregated enzymes that changed conformation with incubation time. The evolution observed is consistent with the existence of transient complexes previously postulated to explain the long time constants for competitive displacement effects in adsorption from enzyme mixtures. AFM indicated that the covalently coupled bound layer to the PIII-treated surface consisted of a stable monolayer without enzyme aggregates, and became a double layer at longer incubation times. Light scattering analysis showed no indication of aggregates in the solution at room temperature, which indicates that the surface without PIII-treatment induced enzyme aggregation. A model for the attachment process of a protein mixture that includes the adsorption kinetics for both surfaces is presented.

Immobilization of cellulase on a reversibly soluble-insoluble support: properties and application

Cellulase was coupled to N-succinyl-chitosan (NSC) showing soluble-insoluble characteristics with pH change. Cellulase immobilized on NSC (NSCC) is in a soluble state during the enzyme reaction, yet can be recovered in its insoluble form by lowering the pH of the reaction solution after the reaction. NSCC was obtained under the optimized immobilization conditions of 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) 10 mg, cellulase 15 mg, and pH 5.0. The retention activity of the immobilized cellulase was found to be 48.8%. The effects of pH and temperature on the activity and stability of NSCC were studied and compared with those of free cellulase. The optimum temperature and pH of NSCC was 45 degrees C and 4.0, respectively, which was found unchanged compared with the free one. The stability of cellulase against change in the pH and temperature was improved by the immobilization. The effectiveness of employing NSCC for extracting flavonoids from Ginkgo biloba leaf powder was investigated. Results showed that NSCC enhanced extraction yield up to 2.35-fold when compared with the conventional method. Moreover, NSCC retained 83.5% of its initial activity after five batches of hydrolysis reaction.