摘要

Proteases are now recognized as the most indispensable industrial biocatalyst owing to their diverse microbial sources and innovative applications. In the present investigation, a thermostable, organic solvent-tolerant, alkaline serine protease from Bacillus circulans MTCC 7942, was purified and characterized. The protease was purified to 37-fold by a three-step purification scheme with 39% recovery. The optimum pH and temperature for protease was 10 and 60 degrees C, respectively. The apparent molecular mass of the purified enzyme was 43kD as revealed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The K-m and V-max values using casein-substrate were 3.1mg/mL and 1.8 mu mol/min, respectively. The protease remained stable in the presence of organic solvents with higher (>3.2) log P value (cyclohexane, n-octane, n-hexadecane, n-decane, and n-dodecane), as compared to organic solvents with lower (<3.2) log P value (acetone, butanol, benzene, chloroform, toluene). Remarkably, the protease showed profound stability even in the presence of organic solvents with less log P values (glycerol, dimethyl sulfate [DMSO], p-xylene), indicating the possibility of nonaqueous enzymatic applications. Also, protease activity was improved in the presence of metal ions (Ca2+, Mg2+, Mn2+); enhanced by biosurfactants; hardly affected by bleaching agents, oxidizing agents, and chemical surfactants; and stable in commercial detergents. In addition, a protease-detergent formulation effectively washed out egg and blood stains as compared to detergent alone. The protease was suitable for various commercial applications like processing of gelatinous film and as a compatible additive to detergent formulation with its operative utility in hard water.

  • 出版日期2016-1-2