Chapter 4 - Industrial Enzymes: Recovery and Purification Challenges

Abstract

Enzymes such as proteases, amylases, cellulases, lipases, glucanase, β-galactosidase, pectin lyase, and ureases are commonly used in various industries. These enzymes are very sensitive to environmental factors, such as pH, temperature, and ionic strength. Under certain conditions, enzymes lose their catalytic activity. Thus, these enzymes need to be processed quickly; the continuous process can speed up purification and conserve products. Chromatographic methods are generally used for the purification of enzymes. Chromatographic resins used may vary in their behavior from batch to batch and degrade over time. Hence, the development of new resins could overcome these challenges. Ultrafiltration is one of the predominant methods of enzyme purification. Affinity chromatography is an effective method for purifying therapeutic enzymes. Nowadays, development of robot technology, miniaturization to speed up process optimization, and mathematical modeling are key in enzyme purification process. Automation of enzyme purification process is rapidly advancing, showing consistency and saving time, and also giving reproducible results. Recently, stimulated moving bed chromatography has been developed for the purification of recombinant proteins. Further improving the stimulated moving bed chromatography would also be a better choice for enzyme purification on an industrial scale.