Isolation, Characterization of Chitosan Polymer from Mulberry Cocoons for Enzyme Immobilization

Reena T. | Caroline Rose J. | Dhanapal S.

Abstract: Chitin is one of the world's most abundant, renewable organic resources to be synthesized and removed as by-product from various industries to the environment every year. Silk pupae are a by-product of sericulture industry which can be used in multiple industries as it is rich in oils, protein and chitin. Chitin, along with its deacetylated derivative chitosan, can be utilised to immobilise enzymes. Because chitin-chitosan has good carrier qualities, it was utilised to immobilise cellulase, a significant biodegrader of lignocellulosic materials. The immobilisation of cellulose on chitin-chitosan carrier yield was determined to be over 60% in this study, which is superior to previous immobilisation techniques. Characterization of immobilised cellulase also shows better stability over a wide range of pH (3.5 to 5.0), temperature (50 to 60?C) and reusability (up to 8 cycles) on substrate CMC. Capability of immobilised cellulase was checked on various agricultural wastes such as rice husk, wheat husk and corn cob and it was observed that the immobilised enzyme breaks down the waste to a considerable extent. Hence in comparison to native cellulase, immobilised cellulase on stable chitin-chitosan carrier seems to be a promising tool for bioremediation and large-scale application.

Keywords: Chitosan, Cellulase, Immobilisation

Edition: Volume 11 Issue 9, September 2022,

Pages: 1000 - 1006