Immobilization of Pectinolytic Enzymes on Nylon 6/6 Carriers
Abstract
Pectinolytic enzymes are an important tool for sustainable food production, with a wide
range of applications in food processing technologies as well as the extraction of bioactive compounds
from pectin-rich raw materials. In the present study, we immobilized commercial pectinase
preparation onto pellet and thread shaped nylon 6/6 carriers and assessed its stability and reusability.
Five commercial pectinase preparations were tested for different pectin de-polymerizing activities
(pectinase, polygalacturonase, and pectin lyase activities). Thereafter, Pectinex® Ultra Tropical
preparation, exhibiting the highest catalytic activities among the studied preparations (p < 0.0001),
was immobilized on nylon 6/6 using dimethyl sulfate and glutaraldehyde. The immobilization
yield was in accordance with the carrier surface area available for enzyme attachment, and it was
1.25 0.10 U/g on threads, which was over 40 times higher than that on pellets. However, the
inactivation of immobilized enzymes was not dependent on the shape of the carrier, indicating that
the attachment of the enzymes on the surface of nylon 6/6 carriers was similar. The half-life of
enzyme inactivation fast phase at 4 C was 12.8 days. After 5 weeks, the unused threads retained
63% of their initial activity. Reusability study showed that after 20 successive cycles the remaining
activity of the immobilized pectinase was 22%, indicating the good prospects of reusability of the
immobilized enzyme preparations for industrial application. This research is funded by VALORTECH project, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 810630.