α-Amylase immobilization on amidoximated acrylic microfibres activated by cyanuric chloride

Enzyme immobilization is one of the most important techniques for industrial applications. It makes the immobilized enzyme more stable and advantageous than the free form in different aspects. α-Amylase was immobilized on 4% cyanuric chloride-activated amidoximated acrylic fabric at pH 7.0 with (79%) maximum efficiency. A field emission scanning electron microscope and Fourier transform infrared were used to confirm the immobilization process. Even after being recycled 10 times, the immobilized enzyme lost just 28% of its initial activity. Owing to immobilization, the pH of the soluble α-amylase was shifted from 6.0 to 6.5. The immobilized α-amylases showed thermal stability at 60°C, and became more resistant to heavy metal ions. The k(m) values of the immobilized and soluble α-amylases were 9.6 and 3.8 mg starch ml(−1), respectively. In conclusion, this method shows that the immobilized α-amylase proved to be more efficient than its soluble form, and hence could be used during saccharification of starch.