Chemical amination of lipase B from Candida antarctica is an efficient solution for the preparation of crosslinked enzyme aggregates

An Overview of Crosslinked Enzyme Aggregates: Concept of Development and Trends of Applications

Enzymes are commonly used as biocatalysts for various biological and chemical processes in industrial applications. However, their limited operational stability, catalytic efficiency, poor reusability, and high-cost hamper further industrial usage. Thus, crosslinked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) are developed as a better enzyme immobilization tool to extend the enzymes' operational stability. This immobilization method is appealing because it is simpler due to the absence of ballast and permits the collective use of crude enzyme cocktails. CLEAs, so far, have been successfully developed using a variety of enzymes, viz., hydrolases, proteases, amidases, lipases, esterases, and oxidoreductase. Recent years have seen the emergence of novel strategies for preparing better CLEAs, which include the combi- and multi-CLEAs, magnetics CLEAs, and porous CLEAs for various industrial applications, viz., laundry detergents, organic synthesis, food industries, pharmaceutical applications, oils, and biodiesel production. To better understand the different strategies for CLEAs' development, this review explores these strategies and highlights the relevant concerns in designing innovative CLEAs. This article also details the challenges faced during CLEAs preparation and solutions for overcoming them. Finally, the trending strategies to improve the preparation of CLEAs alongside their industrial application trends are also discussed.

Enzyme immobilization technology as a tool to innovate in the production of biofuels: A special review of the Cross-Linked Enzyme Aggregates (CLEAs) strategy

This review emphasizes the crucial role of enzyme immobilization technology in advancing the production of two main biofuels, ethanol and biodiesel, with a specific focus on the Cross-linked Enzyme Aggregates (CLEAs) strategy. This method of immobilization has gained attention due to its simplicity and affordability, as it does not initially require a solid support. CLEAs synthesis protocol includes two steps: enzyme precipitation and cross-linking of aggregates using bifunctional agents. We conducted a thorough search for papers detailing the synthesis of CLEAs utilizing amylases, cellulases, and hemicellulases. These key enzymes are involved in breaking down starch or lignocellulosic materials to produce ethanol, both in first and second-generation processes. CLEAs of lipases were included as these enzymes play a crucial role in the enzymatic process of biodiesel production. However, when dealing with large or diverse substrates such as lignocellulosic materials for ethanol production and oils/fats for biodiesel production, the use of individual enzymes may not be the most efficient method. Instead, a system that utilizes a blend of enzymes may prove to be more effective. To innovate in the production of biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel), enzyme co-immobilization using different enzyme species to produce Combi-CLEAs is a promising trend.

Easy and Versatile Technique for the Preparation of Stable and Active Lipase-Based CLEA-like Copolymers by Using Two Homofunctional Cross-Linking Agents: Application to the Preparation of Enantiopure Ibuprofen

An easy and versatile method was designed and applied successfully to obtain access to lipase-based cross-linked-enzyme aggregate-like copolymers (CLEA-LCs) using one-pot, consecutive cross-linking steps using two types of homobifunctional cross-linkers (glutaraldehyde and putrescine), mediated with amine activation through pH alteration (pH jump) as a key step in the process. Six lipases were utilised in order to assess the effectiveness of the technique, in terms of immobilization yields, hydrolytic activities, thermal stability and application in kinetic resolution. A good retention of catalytic properties was found for all cases, together with an important thermal and storage stability improvement. Particularly, the CLEA-LCs derived from Candida rugosa lipase showed an outstanding behaviour in terms of thermostability and capability for catalysing the enantioselective hydrolysis of racemic ibuprofen ethyl ester, furnishing the eutomer (S)-ibuprofen with very high conversion and enantioselectivity.

(Magnetic) Cross-Linked Enzyme Aggregates of Cellulase from T. reesei: A Stable and Efficient Biocatalyst

Cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) represent an effective tool for carrier-free immobilization of enzymes. The present study promotes a successful application of functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) for stabilization of cellulase CLEAs. Catalytically active CLEAs and magnetic cross-linked enzyme aggregates (mCLEAs) of cellulase from Trichoderma reesei were prepared using glutaraldehyde (GA) as a cross-linking agent and the catalytic activity and stability of the CLEAs/mCLEAs were investigated. The influence of precipitation agents, cross-linker concentration, concentration of enzyme, addition of bovine serum albumin (BSA), and addition of sodium cyanoborohydride (NaBH₃CN) on expressed activity and immobilization yield of CLEAs/mCLEAs was studied. Particularly, reducing the unsaturated Schiff's base to form irreversible linkages is important and improved the activity of CLEAs (86%) and mCLEAs (91%). For increased applicability of CLEAs/mCLEAs, we enhanced the activity and stability at mild biochemical process conditions. The reusability after 10 cycles of both CLEAs and mCLEAs was investigated, which retained 72% and 65% of the initial activity, respectively. The thermal stability of CLEAs and mCLEAs in comparison with the non-immobilized enzyme was obtained at 30 °C (145.65% and 188.7%, respectively) and 50 °C (185.1% and 141.4%, respectively). Kinetic parameters were determined for CLEAs and mCLEAs, and the K_M constant was found at 0.055 ± 0.0102 mM and 0.037 ± 0.0012 mM, respectively. The maximum velocity rate (V_max) was calculated as 1.12 ± 0.0012 µmol/min for CLEA and 1.17 ± 0.0023 µmol/min for mCLEA. Structural characterization was studied using XRD, SEM, and FT-IR. Catalytical properties of immobilized enzyme were improved with the addition of reducent NaBH₃CN by enhancing the activity of CLEAs and with addition of functionalized aminosilane MNPs by enhancing the activity of mCLEAs.

Lipase immobilization via cross-linked enzyme aggregates: Problems and prospects - A review

In this review we have focused on the preparation of cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) from lipases, as these are among the most used enzyme in bioprocesses. This immobilization method is considered very attractive due to preparation simplicity, non-use of supports and the possibility of using crude enzyme extracts. CLEAs provide lipase stabilization under extreme temperature or pH conditions or in the presence of organic solvents, in addition to preventing enzyme leaching in aqueous medium. However, it presents some problems in the preparation and limitations in their use. The problems in preparation refer mainly to the crosslinking step, and may be solved using an aminated feeder. The problems in handling have been tackled designing magnetic-CLEAs or trapping the CLEAs in particles with better mechanical properties, the substrate diffusion problems has been reduced by producing more porous-CLEAs, etc. The enzyme co-immobilization using combi-CLEAs is also a new tendency. Therefore, this review explores the CLEAs methodology aimed at lipase immobilization and its applications.

Magnetic cross-linked enzyme aggregate based on ionic liquid modification as a novel immobilized biocatalyst for phytosterol esterification

Novel immobilized enzyme CRL-FIL-CLEAs@Fe3O4 with enhanced activities and stabilities was successfully prepared by a cross-linked lipase aggregate method for phytosterol esterification.

Biocatalytic self-assembled synthetic vesicles and coacervates: From single compartment to artificial cells

Compartmentalization is an intrinsic feature of living cells that allows spatiotemporal control over the biochemical pathways expressed in them. Over the years, a library of compartmentalized systems has been generated, which includes nano to micrometer sized biomimetic vesicles derived from lipids, amphiphilic block copolymers, peptides, and nanoparticles. Biocatalytic vesicles have been developed using a simple bag containing enzyme design of liposomes to multienzymes immobilized multi-vesicular compartments for artificial cell generation. Additionally, enzymes were also entrapped in membrane-less coacervate droplets to mimic the cytoplasmic macromolecular crowding mechanisms. Here, we have discussed different types of single and multicompartment systems, emphasizing their recent developments as biocatalytic self-assembled structures using recent examples. Importantly, we have summarized the strategies in the development of the self-assembled structure to improvise their adaptivity and flexibility for enzyme immobilization. Finally, we have presented the use of biocatalytic assemblies in mimicking different aspects of living cells, which further carves the path for the engineering of a minimal cell.

Chemical modification of enzymes to improve biocatalytic performance

Improvement in intrinsic enzymatic features is in many instances a prerequisite for the scalable applicability of many industrially important biocatalysts. To this end, various strategies of chemical modification of enzymes are maturing and now considered as a distinct way to improve biocatalytic properties. Traditional chemical modification methods utilize reactivities of amine, carboxylic, thiol and other side chains originating from canonical amino acids. On the other hand, noncanonical amino acid- mediated 'click' (bioorthogoal) chemistry and dehydroalanine (Dha)-mediated modifications have emerged as an alternate and promising ways to modify enzymes for functional enhancement. This review discusses the applications of various chemical modification tools that have been directed towards the improvement of functional properties and/or stability of diverse array of biocatalysts.

Improved catalytic performance of carrier-free immobilized lipase by advanced cross-linked enzyme aggregates technology

The cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) are one of the technologies that quickly immobilize the enzyme without a carrier. In this study, ionic liquid with amino group (1-aminopropyl-3-methylimidazole bromide, FIL) was used as the novel functional surface molecule to modify CRL (Candida rugosa lipase, CRL). The enzymatic properties of CRL-FIL-CLEAs were investigated. The activity of CRL-FIL-CLEAs (5.51 U/mg protein) was 1.9 times higher than that of CRL-CLEAs (2.86 U/mg protein) without surface modification. After incubating in a centrifuge tube for 50 min at 60 °C, CRL-FIL-CLEAs still maintained 61% of its initial activity, while the value for CRL-CLEAs was only 22%. After repeated use for five times, compared with the 22% residual activity of CRL-CLEAs, the value of CRL-FIL-CLEAs was 51%. Based on the above results, it was indicated that this method provided a new idea for the effective synthesis of immobilized enzyme.

Recent Advances in Biocatalysis with Chemical Modification and Expanded Amino Acid Alphabet

The two main strategies for enzyme engineering, directed evolution and rational design, have found widespread applications in improving the intrinsic activities of proteins. Although numerous advances have been achieved using these ground-breaking methods, the limited chemical diversity of the biopolymers, restricted to the 20 canonical amino acids, hampers creation of novel enzymes that Nature has never made thus far. To address this, much research has been devoted to expanding the protein sequence space via chemical modifications and/or incorporation of noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs). This review provides a balanced discussion and critical evaluation of the applications, recent advances, and technical breakthroughs in biocatalysis for three approaches: (i) chemical modification of cAAs, (ii) incorporation of ncAAs, and (iii) chemical modification of incorporated ncAAs. Furthermore, the applications of these approaches and the result on the functional properties and mechanistic study of the enzymes are extensively reviewed. We also discuss the design of artificial enzymes and directed evolution strategies for enzymes with ncAAs incorporated. Finally, we discuss the current challenges and future perspectives for biocatalysis using the expanded amino acid alphabet.

Soluble and Cross-Linked Aggregated Forms of α-Galactosidase from Vigna mungo Immobilized on Magnetic Nanocomposites: Improved Stability and Reusability

α-Galactosidases hold immense potential due to their biotechnological applications in various industrial and functional food sectors. In the present study, soluble and covalently cross-linked aggregated forms of a low molecular weight, thermo-labile α-galactosidase from Vigna mungo (VM-αGal) seeds were immobilized onto chitosan-coated magnetic nanoparticles for improved stability and repeated usage by magnetic separation. Parameters like precipitants (type, amount, and ratio), glutaraldehyde concentration, and enzyme load were optimized for the preparation of chitosan-coated magnetic nanocomposites of cross-linked VM-αGal (VM-αGal-MC) and VM-αGal (VM-αGal-M) resulted in 100% immobilization efficiency. Size and morphology of VM-αGal-M were studied through dynamic light scattering (DLS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), while Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to study the chemical composition of VM-αGal-MC and VM-αGal-M. VM-αGal-MC and VM-αGal-M were found more active in a broad range of pH (3-8) and displayed optimal temperatures up to 25 °C higher than VM-αGal. Addition of non-ionic detergents (except Tween-40) improved VM-αGal-MC activity by up to 44% but negatively affected VM-αGal-M activity. Both VM-αGal-MC (15% residual activity after 21 min at 85 °C, E_d 92.42 kcal/mol) and VM-αGal-M (69.0% residual activity after 10 min at 75 °C, E_d 39.87 kcal/mol) showed remarkable thermal stability and repeatedly hydrolyzed the substrate for 10 cycles.

Free and Substrate-Immobilised Lipases from Fusarium verticillioides P24 as a Biocatalyst for Hydrolysis and Transesterification Reactions

Fungal enzymes are widely used in technological processes and have some interesting features to be applied in a variety of biosynthetic courses. Here, free and substrate-immobilised lipases from Fusarium verticillioides P24 were obtained by solid-state fermentation using wheat bran as substrate and fungal carrier. Based on their hydrolytic and transesterification activities, the lipases were characterised as pH-dependent in both reactions, with higher substrate conversion in an alkaline environment. Thermally, the lipases performed well from 30 to 45 °C, being more stable in mild conditions. Organic solvents significantly influenced the lipase selectivity using different vegetable oils as fatty acid source. Omega(ω)-3 production in n-hexane achieved 45% using canola oil, against ≈ 18% in cyclohexane. However, ω-6 production was preferably produced for both solvents using linseed oil with significant alterations in the yield (≈ 79% and 49% for n-hexane and cyclohexane, respectively). Moreover, the greatest enzyme selectivity for ω-6 led us to suppose a lipase preference for the Sn1 position of the triacylglycerol. Lastly, a transesterification reaction was performed, achieving 90% of ester conversion in 72 h. This study reports the characterisation and use of free and substrate-immobilised lipases from Fusarium verticillioides P24 as an economic and efficient method for the first time.

Carrier-bound and carrier-free immobilization of type A feruloyl esterase from Aspergillus niger: Searching for an operationally stable heterogeneous biocatalyst for the synthesis of butyl hydroxycinnamates

Feruloyl esterases synthesize butyl hydroxycinnamates, molecules possessing interesting biological properties, nonetheless, they exhibit a low stability under synthesis conditions in organic solvents, restricting its use. To enhance its operational stability in synthesis, we immobilized type A feruloyl esterase from Aspergillus niger (AnFAEA) using several carrier-bound and carrier-free strategies. The most active biocatalysts were: 1) AnFAEA immobilized on epoxy-activated carriers (protein load of 0.6 mg_enzyme x mg^-1_carrier) that recovered 91 % of the initial hydrolytic activity, and 2) AnFAEA aggregated and cross-linked in the presence of 5 mg of BSA and 15 mM of glutaraldehyde (AnFAEA-amino-CLEAs), which exhibited 385 % of its initial hydrolytic activity; both using 4-nitrophenyl butyrate as substrate. The AnFAEA-amino-CLEAs were 12.7 times more thermostable at 60 °C than the AnFAEA immobilized on epoxy-activated carrier, thus AnFAEA-amino-CLEAs were selected for further characterization. Interestingly, during methyl sinapate hydrolysis (pH 7.2 and 30 °C), AnFAEA-amino-CLEAs K_M was 15 % higher, while during butyl sinapate synthesis the K_M was reduced in 63 %, both compared with the soluble enzyme. The direct esterification of butyl sinapate at solvent free conditions using sinapic acid 50 mM, reached 95 % conversion after 24 h employing AnFAEA-amino-CLEAs, which could be used for 10 cycles without significant activity losses, demonstrating their outstanding operational stability.

Biochemical and Structural Characterization of Cross-Linked Enzyme Aggregates (CLEAs) of Organic Solvent Tolerant Protease

Cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) is an immobilization technique that can be used to customize enzymes under an optimized condition. Structural analysis on any enzyme treated with a CLEA remains elusive and has been less explored. In the present work, a method for preparing an organic solvent tolerant protease using a CLEA is disclosed and optimized for better biochemical properties, followed by an analysis of the structure of this CLEA-treated protease. The said organic solvent tolerant protease is a metalloprotease known as elastase strain K in which activity of the metalloprotease is measured by a biochemical interaction with azocasein. Results showed that when a glutaraldehyde of 0.02% (v/v) was used under a 2 h treatment, the amount of recovered activity in CLEA-elastase was highest. The recovered activity of CLEA-elastase and CLEA-elastase-SB (which was a CLEA co-aggregated with starch and bovine serum albumin (BSA)) were at an approximate 60% and 80%, respectively. The CLEA immobilization of elastase strain K allowed the stability of the enzyme to be enhanced at high temperature and at a broader pH. Both CLEA-elastase and CLEA-elastase-SB end-products were able to maintain up to 67% enzyme activity at 60 °C and exhibiting an enhanced stability within pH 5–9 with up to 90% recovering activity. By implementing a CLEA on the organic solvent tolerant protease, the characteristics of the organic solvent tolerant were preserved and enhanced with the presence of 25% (v/v) acetonitrile, ethanol, and benzene at 165%, 173%, and 153% relative activity. Structural analysis through SEM and dynamic light scattering (DLS) showed that CLEA-elastase had a random aggregate morphology with an average diameter of 1497 nm.

Combi-CLEAs of Glucose Oxidase and Catalase for Conversion of Glucose to Gluconic Acid Eliminating the Hydrogen Peroxide to Maintain Enzyme Activity in a Bubble Column Reactor

In this study combined cross-linked aggregates of catalase from bovine liver and glucose-oxidase from Aspergillus niger were prepared, and the effects of the precipitant and crosslinking agents, as well as the use of bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a feeder protein, on enzyme immobilization yield and thermal stability of both enzymes, were evaluated. Combi- crosslinking of enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) prepared using dimethoxyethane as precipitant, 25 mM glutaraldehyde and BSA/enzymes mass ratio of 5.45 (w/w), exhibited the highest enzyme activities and stabilities at 40 °C, pH 6.0, and 250 rpm for 5 h. The stability of both immobilized enzymes was fairly similar, eliminating one of the problems of enzyme coimmobilization. Combi-CLEAs were used in gluconic acid (GA) production in a bubble column reactor operated at 40 °C, pH 6.0 and 10 vvm of aeration, using 26 g L−1 glucose as the substrate. Results showed conversion of around 96% and a reaction course very similar to the same process using free enzymes. The operational half-life was 34 h, determined from kinetic profiles and the first order inactivation model. Combi-CLEAs of glucose-oxidase and catalase were shown to be a robust biocatalyst for applications in the production of gluconic acid from glucose.

Dextran Aldehyde in Biocatalysis: More Than a Mere Immobilization System

Dextran aldehyde (dexOx), resulting from the periodate oxidative cleavage of 1,2-diol moiety inside dextran, is a polymer that is very useful in many areas, including as a macromolecular carrier for drug delivery and other biomedical applications. In particular, it has been widely used for chemical engineering of enzymes, with the aim of designing better biocatalysts that possess improved catalytic properties, making them more stable and/or active for different catalytic reactions. This polymer possesses a very flexible hydrophilic structure, which becomes inert after chemical reduction; therefore, dexOx comes to be highly versatile in a biocatalyst design. This paper presents an overview of the multiple applications of dexOx in applied biocatalysis, e.g., to modulate the adsorption of biomolecules on carrier surfaces in affinity chromatography and biosensors design, to serve as a spacer arm between a ligand and the support in biomacromolecule immobilization procedures or to generate artificial microenvironments around the enzyme molecules or to stabilize multimeric enzymes by intersubunit crosslinking, among many other applications.

Carbonic Anhydrase@ZIF-8 Hydrogel Composite Membrane with Improved Recycling and Stability for Efficient CO2 Capture

In this study, carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) molecules were embedded into metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) via co-precipitation (CA@ZIF-8), and then these CA@ZIF-8 nanocomposites were encapsulated in the poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-chitosan (CS) hydrogel networks to prepare CA@ZIF-8-PVA-CS composite hydrogels (PVA/CS/CA@ZIF-8) with high activity, stability, and reusability. The immobilization efficiency of CA was greater than 70%, suggesting the high immobilization efficiency. The prepared PVA/CS/CA@ZIF-8 composite membranes displayed excellent higher stability against a high temperature, denaturants, and acid than free CA and CA@ZIF-8. Furthermore, these membranes exhibited an excellent performance for CO₂ capture. The amount of calcium carbonate obtained by PVA/CS/CA@ZIF-8 hydrogel membranes was 20- and 1.63-fold than free CA and CA@ZIF-8 composites, respectively. Furthermore, the hydrogel membranes exhibited superior reusability and mechanical strength. The hydrogel membrane maitained 50% of its original activity after 11 cycles. However, CA@ZIF-8 completely lost activity. These results indicated that the PVA/CS/CA@ZIF-8 membranes can be efficiently applied to capture CO₂ sequestration.

Design of combined crosslinked enzyme aggregates (combi-CLEAs) of β-galactosidase and glucose isomerase for the one-pot production of fructose syrup from lactose

A new bi-enzymatic catalyst has been produced by precipitation and crosslinking (combi-CLEAs) of β-galactosidase and glucose isomerase for catalyzing the cascade reactions of lactose conversion into fructose, producing a lactose-fructose syrup (LFS). Glucose isomerase was chemically aminated to increase its reactive surface groups for favour the crosslinking step. The effect of β-galactosidase to glucose isomerase activity ratio and glutaraldehyde to protein mass ratio in combi-CLEAs production was evaluated. The selected combi-catalyst was successfully used in the production of fructose syrup from lactose in a single reaction vessel. The biocatalyst could be used at least in five sequential batches of LFS production, remaining fully stable after a total of 50 h of reaction, obtaining a product of constant quality. A robust bi-enzymatic catalyst was produced that can be repeatedly used in LFS production, an attractive mild sweetener for the dairy food industry.

Preparation of Crosslinked Enzyme Aggregates of a Thermostable Cyclodextrin Glucosyltransferase from Thermoanaerobacter sp. Critical Effect of the Crosslinking Agent

Crosslinked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) of a thermostable cyclodextrin glucosyltransferase (CGTase) from Thermoanaerobacter sp. have been prepared for the production of cyclodextrins (CDs). Different parameters in the precipitation (nature and concentration of precipitant) and crosslinking steps (time of reaction with cross-linker, nature and concentration of the crosslinker) were evaluated on the production of CLEAs of CGTase. Among the seven studied precipitants, acetone with a 75% (v/v) concentration produced the aggregates of CGTase with higher activity, which retained 97% of the initial activity. Concerning the cross-linker (glutaraldehyde, starch–aldehyde, and pectin–aldehyde), starch–aldehyde produced the most active CLEAs. The use of bovine serum albumin as co-feeder decreased the expressed activity. Addition of polyethylenimine at the end of cross-linking step prevented the leakage of the enzyme and the subsequent Schiff’s bases reduction with sodium borohydride permitted to maintain 24% of the initial activity even with the large dextrin as substrate. The optimal conditions for the immobilization process required were defined as 75% (v/v) acetone as precipitation reagent for 1 h at 20 °C, 20 mM starch–aldehyde as crosslinking reagent for 2 h at 20 °C, treatment with 1 mg/mL of polyethylenimine for 5 min, reduction with 1 mg/mL of sodium borohydride. The CLEAs of CGTase were active catalyst (similarly to the free enzyme) in the production of cyclodextrins at 50 °C and pH 6.0 for 6 h reaction, maintaining intact their structures. Besides this, after five cycles of 3 h the total cyclodextrin yield was 80% of the initial value (first batch, with around 45% CD yield).

Preparation of Magnetic Cross-Linked Amyloglucosidase Aggregates: Solving Some Activity Problems

The preparation of Cross-Linked Enzyme Aggregates (CLEAs) is a simple and cost-effective technique capable of generating insoluble biocatalysts with high volumetric activity and improved stability. The standard CLEA preparation consists of the aggregation of the enzyme and its further crosslinking, usually with glutaraldehyde. However, some enzymes have too low a content of surface lysine groups to permit effective crosslinking with glutaraldehyde, requiring co-aggregation with feeders rich in amino groups to aid the formation of CLEAs. The co-aggregation with magnetic particles makes their handling easier. In this work, CLEAs of a commercial amyloglucosidase (AMG) produced by Aspergillus niger were prepared by co-aggregation in the presence of polyethyleneimine (PEI) or starch with aminated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) or bovine serum albumin (BSA). First, CLEAs were prepared only with MNPs at different glutaraldehyde concentrations, yielding a recovered activity of around 20%. The addition of starch during the precipitation and crosslinking steps nearly doubled the recovered activity. Similar recovered activity (around 40%) was achieved when changing starch by PEI. Moreover, under the same conditions, AMG co-aggregated with BSA was also synthesized, yielding CLEAs with very similar recovered activity. Both CLEAs (co-aggregated with MNPs or BSA) were four times more stable than the soluble enzyme. These CLEAs were evaluated in the hydrolysis of starch at typical industrial conditions, achieving more than 95% starch-to-glucose conversion, measured as Dextrose Equivalent (DE). Moreover, both CLEAS could be reused for five cycles, maintaining a DE of around 90%. Although both CLEAs had good properties, magnetic CLEAs could be more attractive for industrial purposes because of their easy separation by an external magnetic field, avoiding the formation of clusters during the filtration or centrifugation recovery methods usually used.

Protease-based cross-linked enzyme aggregates with improved catalytic stability, silver removal, and dehairing potentials

Proteases have gained special research place due to their broader activity spectrum and applied perspectives for different industrial sectors. The present research focused on three aims, i.e., (1) to identify the best protease producer strain among three different Aspergillus strains, (2) the development of protease-based cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) and (3) silver removal and dehairing potentialities of developed CLEAs. A. flavus gave optimum activity (98.50 U/mL) with the culture conditions (pH -7.5, 35 °C, inoculum 2.5 mL and fermentation time 48 h) by applying RSM under CCD. The protease-CLEAs were developed with recovery activity (37.45%) by optimizing conditions through RSM under CCD (80% ammonium sulfate, 65 mM glutaraldehyde, and 0.15 mM BSA). The adequacy of the model was checked by ANOVA, and the interactions among different variables were plotted using 3-D graphs. The characterization profile revealed high pH and thermal stability at pH -9 and 60 °C, respectively. The kinetic study revealed lower K_M and higher V_max values (31.02 μM and 91.16 U/mL, respectively) after CLEAs formation, as compared to the free protease (61.42 μM and 84.45 U/mL, respectively). By applying on X-ray film and animal hides, protease-CLEAs showed the best activity with minimum time as compared to free protease.

Polyethylenimine: a very useful ionic polymer in the design of immobilized enzyme biocatalysts

This review discusses the possible roles of polyethylenimine (PEI) in the design of improved immobilized biocatalysts from diverse perspectives.

Hybrid Cross-Linked Lipase Aggregates with Magnetic Nanoparticles: A Robust and Recyclable Biocatalysis for the Epoxidation of Oleic Acid

Highly stable and easily recyclable hybrid magnetic cross-linked lipase aggregates (HM-CSL-CLEAs) were prepared by coaggregation of lipase aggregates with nonfunctionalized magnetic nanoparticles and subsequent chemical cross-linking with glutaraldehyde. Analysis by SEM and CLSM indicated that the CLEAs were embedded in nanoparticle aggregates instead of covalently immobilized. The resulting HM-CSL-CLEAs exhibited higher thermostability, storage stability, and reusability than standard CLEAs. For example, HM-CSL-CLEAs maintained >60% of their initial activity after 40 min of incubation at 60 °C, whereas standard CLEAs lost most of their activities. The HM-CSL-CLEAs can be easily recovered from the reaction mixture by an external magnetic field. Moreover, the H2O2 tolerance of the lipase in HM-CSL-CLEAs was also enhanced, which could relieve the inhibitory effect on lipase activity. A high conversion yield (55%) for the epoxidation of oleic acid using H2O2 as oxidizing agent was achieved by HM-CSL-CLEAs.

Cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEA) in enzyme improvement – a review

Structural and functional catalytic characteristics of cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEA) are reviewed. Firstly, advantages of enzyme immobilization and existing types of immobilization are described. Then, a wide description of the factors that modify CLEA activity, selectivity and stability is presented. Nowadays CLEA offers an economic, simple and easy tool to reuse biocatalysts, improving their catalytic properties and stability. This immobilization methodology has been widely and satisfactorily tested with a great variety of enzymes and has demonstrated its potential as a future tool to optimize biocatalytic processes.

Preparation and characterization of a Combi-CLEAs from pectinases and cellulases: a potential biocatalyst for grape juice clarification

Combi-CLEAs of pectinases and cellulases were prepared for grape juice clarification.

Repeated-batch operation for the synthesis of lactulose with β-galactosidase immobilized by aggregation and crosslinking

Synthesis of lactulose under repeated-batch operation was done with cross-linked aggregates of Aspergillus oryzae β-galactosidase (CLAGs). The effect of the crosslinking agent to enzyme mass ratio and cross-linking time were first evaluated. Best results were obtained at 5.5gdeglutaraldehyde/g enzyme at 5h of cross-linking, obtaining a specific activity of 15,000IUg(-1), with 30% immobilization yield. CLAG was more stable than the free enzyme under non-reactive conditions with a half-life of 123h at 50°C and when operated in repeated-batch mode, yield and productivity was 3.8 and 4.3 times higher. Maximum number of batches was determined considering biocatalyst replacement at 50% residual activity. 98 and 27 batches could be performed under such criterion at fructose/lactose molar ratio of 4 and 20 respectively, reflecting that enzyme stability is strongly affected by the sugars distribution in the reaction medium.

Stabilization of Phenylalanine Ammonia Lyase from Rhodotorula glutinis by Encapsulation in Polyethyleneimine-Mediated Biomimetic Silica

Phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) from Rhodotorula glutinis was encapsulated within polyethyleneimine-mediated biomimetic silica. The main factors in the preparation of biomimetic silica were optimized by response surface methodology (RSM). Compared to free PAL (about 2 U), the encapsulated PAL retained more than 43 % of their initial activity after 1 h of incubation time at 60 °C, whereas free PAL lost most of activity in the same conditions. It was clearly indicated that the thermal stability of PAL was improved by encapsulation. Moreover, the encapsulated PAL exhibited the excellent stability of the enzyme against denaturants and storage stability, and pH stability was improved by encapsulation. Operational stability of 7 reaction cycles showed that the encapsulated PAL was stable. Nevertheless, the K m value of encapsulated PAL in biomimetic silica was higher than that of the free PAL due to lower total surface area and increased mass transfer resistance.

Versatility of divinylsulfone supports permits the tuning of CALB properties during its immobilization

Properties of CALB has been modulated by immobilization on divinylsulfone (DVS) activated agarose beads under different conditions (pH 5–10).

Amination of enzymes to improve biocatalyst performance: coupling genetic modification and physicochemical tools

Improvement of the features of an enzyme is in many instances a pre-requisite for the industrial implementation of these exceedingly interesting biocatalysts.