Enzyme immobilization: Part 1. Modified bentonite as a new and efficient support for immobilization of Candida rugosa lipase

Immobilization of Candida rugosa lipase onto modified and unmodified bentonites is described. The effect of hydrophilic or hydrophobic nature of the support, the reuse efficiency, and kinetic behavior of immobilized lipase were studied. The modified bentonite with monolayer surfactant (BMS), was the best support, for immobilization. The activity of the immobilized enzyme was examined under varying experimental conditions. The effect of various factors such as concentration of enzyme solution, pH and temperature, stirring and various thermodynamic parameters were also evaluated. The activity of lipase on Na-bentonite, on BMS and on bentonite with bilayer surfactant (BBS) at the optimum pH was 7.2%, 56.6% and 3.6%, respectively. The adsorption isotherm was modelled by the Langmuir equation. The amounts of immobilized lipase on Na-bentonite, BMS and BBS at the highest activity were 42.6%, 61.2% and 28.3%, respectively. The effect of substrate concentration on enzymatic activity of the free and immobilized enzymes showed a good fit to the Michaelis–Menten plots. The immobilized enzyme exhibited an activity comparable to the free enzyme after storage at 30 °C. The thermal stability of free and immobilized lipase were also studied.