Effect of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide on Activity of Different Proteins Released from Hortaea Werneckii

In this study, the suspension culture of Hortaea werneckii was incubated in supercritical carbon dioxide (SC CO2) in order to use the enzymes from these fungi for biotransformations and compare their activity with the activity of purified commercial enzymes at the same conditions. H. werneckii cell suspension was treated in SC CO2 at 35 °C and different pressures. The survival of H. werneckii cells was determined by measuring the optical density of the cell suspension. Additionally, the total protein concentration and absorbance of nucleic acids in the suspension were also determined. The interest was to excrete the intracellular enzyme α-amylase from H. werneckii and to keep the extracellular enzyme cellulase in the active form after the treatment of the cell suspension culture with SC CO2. The activity of intracellular enzyme eliminated from H. werneckii cells and that of extracellular enzyme after the treatment of the cells with SC CO2 was compared with the activity of commercial available enzymes. A high amount of proteins was released from H. werneckii cells during the SC CO2 treatment. The residual activity of both examined enzymes decreased with prolonged treatment time of H. werneckii cell suspension in SC CO2, but both could be still used as biocatalysts in this medium.