Evaluation of a novel thermo-alkaline Staphylococcus aureus lipase for application in detergent formulations

An extracellular lipase of a newly isolated S. aureus strain ALA1 (SAL4) was purified from the optimized culture medium. The SAL4 specific activity determined at 60 °C and pH 12 by using olive oil emulsion or TC4, reached 7215 U/mg and 2484 U/mg, respectively. The 38 NH(2)-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified enzyme starting with two extra amino acid residues (LK) was similar to known staphylococcal lipase sequences. This novel lipase maintained almost 100% and 75% of its full activity in a pH range of 4.0–12 after a 24 h incubation or after 0.5 h treatment at 70 °C, respectively. Interestingly, SAL4 displayed appreciable stability toward oxidizing agents, anionic and non-ionic surfactants in addition to its compatibility with several commercial detergents. Overall, these interesting characteristics make this new lipase promising for its application in detergent industry.