| Enzymes play an essential role in catalyzing
various reactions. However, their instability upon
repetitive/prolonged use, elevated temperature, acidic
or alkaline pH remains an area of concern. a-Amylase,
a widely used enzyme in food industries for starch
hydrolysis, was covalently immobilized on the surface
of two developed matrices, amino-functionalized silica-coated
magnetite nanoparticles (AFSMNPs) alone
and covered with chitosan. The synthesis steps and
characterizations of NPs were examined by FT-IR,
VSM, and SEM. Modified nanoparticles with average
diameters of 20–80 nm were obtained. Enzyme immobilization
efficiencies of 89 and 74 were obtained for
AFSMNPs and chitosan-coated AFSMNPs, respectively.
The optimum pH obtained was 6.5 and 8.0 for
the enzyme immobilized on AFSMNPs and chitosancoated
AFSMNPs, respectively. Optimum temperature
for the immobilized enzyme shifted toward higher
temperatures. Considerable enhancements in thermal
stabilities were observed for the immobilized enzyme
at elevated temperatures up to 80 C. A frequent use
experiment demonstrated that the immobilized
enzyme retained 74 and 85 % of its original activity
even after 20 times of repeated use in AFSMNPs and
chitosan-coated AFSMNPs, respectively. Storage stability
demonstrated that free enzyme lost its activity
completely within 30 days. But, immobilized enzyme
on AFSMNPs and chitosan-coated AFSMNPs preserved
65.73 and 78.63 % of its initial activity,
respectively, after 80 days of incubation. In conclusion,
a substantial improvement in the performance of
the immobilized enzyme with reference to the free
enzyme was obtained. Furthermore, the relative activities
of immobilized enzyme are superior than free
enzyme over the broader pH and temperature ranges. |