Enhancing the Ability Of Keratinase By Using Immobilised Enzymes

Keratinases are a group of proteolytic enzymes that display the capability of degrading insoluble keratin substrates such as feather resulting as poultry waste. Entrapment of crude/purified enzyme within a matrix is a common method for immobilization. An immobilized enzyme provides increased resistance to changes in conditions such as pH or temperature. It also allows enzymes to be held in place throughout the reaction, following which they are easily separated from the products and may be used again. As this is an efficient process it is widely used to increase the efficiency and recycling for enzyme catalysed reactions thereby reducing expenses in industry making the process convenient, and economical. As biodegradation of feather deals with a waste of bulk with low profit margin, immobilization can be used as a strategy to enhance the efficiency of feather degradation. Our earlier studies resulted in isolation of few strains of bacteria with good keratinolytic potential. The crude enzyme of MBF 20 and MBF 45 isolates were extracted from feather-grown medium by simple-buffer contact method and purified by ammoniumsulphate precipitation. The partially purified enzyme from both the isolates was immobilized using carrageenan as a matrix. Immobilized enzyme in κ-Carrageenan beads showed higher stability of the enzyme when compared to other substrates from the earlier studies. Complete degradation was achieved in 4 days with immobilized partial purified keratinase as compared to free cells which took 5-6 days. Beads could be recycled for 3 batches achieving complete degradation of feather making the process economical.