High operational stability of invertase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae immobilized on chitosan nanoparticles.

Invertase (E.C.3.2.1.26) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was covalently immobilized on chitosan nanoparticles prepared by the ionotropic gelation method and activated with glutaraldehyde. The support was characterized and it was studied its load capacity, the influence of the presence of substrate during immobilization, and determined the biocatalyst kinetic parameters and stabilities. The light scattering analysis (LSA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques indicated a mixture of chitosan nano and aggregated nanoparticles, providing high superficial area for enzyme immobilization. The thermal and storage stabilities, the optimal pH and temperature of the enzyme were not altered. K(m) increased 3-fold, while V(max) remained unaltered. The immobilized biocatalyst was reused for 59 batches with maximal invertase activity, the highest operational stability so far described in the literature. These results fulfill some important aspects for the enzyme immobilization: the simplicity of the protocols, the conservation of the enzyme activity, and the high operational stability.