Drying of enzyme immobilized on eco-friendly supports

Abstract

Endophytic fungus Cercospora kikuchii lipase was immobilized on agroindustrial by-products and dried by oven, freeze and spray drying. Spray drying showed the best performance regarding the drying technologies evaluated. Microcrystalline cellulose and rice husk showed the best result since they retained almost 100% of lipase activity after drying. Immobilized derivatives obtained had decreased enzyme activity (≈ 30.0%) during a storage period of six months; and retained an average of 50.0% of the initial activity after five reuse cycles. Water content in immobilized derivatives varied between 4.2 and 6.1% and the water activities ranged from 0.14 to 0.30.

Key words: Enzyme immobilization, drying, Cercospora kikuchii, agricultural by-products.