Application of chitin- and chitosan-based materials for enzyme immobilizations: a review

Although many methods for enzyme immobilization have been described in patents and publications, relatively few processes employing immobilized enzymes have been successfully commercialized. The cost of most industrial enzymes is often only a minor component in overall process economics, and in these instances, the additional costs associated with enzyme immobilization are often not justified. More commonly the benefit realized from enzyme immobilization relates to the process advantages that an immobilized catalyst offers, for example, enabling continuous production, improved stability and the absence of the biocatalyst in the product stream. The development and attributes of several established and emerging industrial applications for immobilized enzymes, including high-fructose corn syrup production, pectin hydrolysis, debittering of fruit juices, interesterification of food fats and oils, biodiesel production, and carbon dioxide capture are reviewed herein, highlighting factors that define the advantages of enzyme immobilization.

Industrial use of immobilized enzymes

Chitin is the world's second most abundant naturally occurring polysaccharide. Much of this is disposed of as waste from seafood crustacean, mainly in shrimps, prawns, crabs, and lobsters, where it occurs as a significant component in the shells/exoskeletons of crustacea. Due to its widespread abundance, its chemical and physical versatility, and the problems of its disposal as a waste material, a wide range of value-added applications of chitin and chitosan is being initiated, investigated, and developed. The widely ranging value-added applications of chitin and chitosan are presented in this review. Chitin and its derivative, chitosan, both highly stable and difficult to degrade materials, can be obtained as 10–20% w/w from the waste seafood shells by suitable chemical processing. One of the significant developments in the new range of applications is the study of the ability of chitosan, as a potentially major environmental treatment material, to remove metal ions from wastewaters. Chitosan is the deac...

Application of Chitosan for the Removal of Metals From Wastewaters by Adsorption—Mechanisms and Models Review

In today's world, there is an increasing trend towards the use of renewable, cheap and readily available biomass in the production of a wide variety of fine and bulk chemicals in different biorefineries. Biorefineries utilize the activities of microbial cells and their enzymes to convert biomass into target products. Many of these processes require enzymes which are operationally stable at high temperature thus allowing e.g. easy mixing, better substrate solubility, high mass transfer rate, and lowered risk of contamination. Thermophiles have often been proposed as sources of industrially relevant thermostable enzymes. Here we discuss existing and potential applications of thermophiles and thermostable enzymes with focus on conversion of carbohydrate containing raw materials. Their importance in biorefineries is explained using examples of lignocellulose and starch conversions to desired products. Strategies that enhance thermostablity of enzymes both in vivo and in vitro are also assessed. Moreover, this review deals with efforts made on developing vectors for expressing recombinant enzymes in thermophilic hosts.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186%2F1475-2859-6-9.pdf

Potential and utilization of thermophiles and thermostable enzymes in biorefining

Adsorption of tannic acid, humic acid, and dyes from water using the composite of chitosan and activated clay.

Immobilization of β-glucosidase from a commercial preparation. Part 2. Optimization of the immobilization process on chitosan

A simple method for purifying glycosidases: α-l-rhamnopyranosidase from Aspergillus niger to increase the aroma of Moscato wine

Immobilization of β-glucosidase from a commercial preparation. Part 1. A comparative study of natural supports

This paper describes a new, simple and inexpensive procedure for separating pectinlyase (PL, EC 4.2.2.3) from β-glucosidase (β-glu, EC 3.2.1.21), both of which have potential for use in the beverage processing industry. The method described here, which entails the treatment of crude preparations with bentonite (4% (w/v)) and the acidification of the resulting supernatant to pH 3·5, leads to the production of two enzymic solutions which contain PL and β-glu, respectively. In both solutions the amount of brown pigment is considerably less than in the crude mixture, and partial purification from extraneous proteins is also achieved.

The separation of pectinlyase from β‐glucosidase in a commercial preparation

The effects of various medium carbon sources and salt solutions on the production of β-glucosidase (βG, EC 3.2.1.21) by Aspergillus niger have been studied. β-Glucosidase productivity was found to be 50 times greater than that reported previously. 1 This higher productivity was achieved by employing a mutant strain of the organism, readily available and inexpensive carbon sources, such as cellulose and orange peel, and a simple nutrient salt solution

Angela Martino

Papers

Immobilization of β-glucosidase from a commercial preparation. Part 2. Optimization of the immobilization process on chitosan

A simple method for purifying glycosidases: α-l-rhamnopyranosidase from Aspergillus niger to increase the aroma of Moscato wine

Immobilization of β-glucosidase from a commercial preparation. Part 1. A comparative study of natural supports

The separation of pectinlyase from β‐glucosidase in a commercial preparation

Production of β-glucosidase by Aspergillus niger using carbon sources derived from agricultural wastes