Effect of Solvent on Catalysis of Protease Adsorbed on Biochar in Organic Media

We have found that the adsorption immobilization of the serine protease α-chymotrypsin (Alpha-CT) onto bamboo charcoal powder (BCP), which is a kind of biochar, improves the transesterification rate of N-acetyl-L-tyrosine ethyl ester (N-Ac-Tyr-OEt) with n-butanol (BuOH) in 9 organic solvents. Organic solvents strongly affected the catalysis of BCP-adsorbed Alpha-CT. The transesterification rate of BCP-adsorbed Alpha-CT was much superior to that of free Alpha-CT in every organic solvent. Especially, the transesterification rate of BCP-adsorbed Alpha-CT was about 760 times higher than that of free α-CT in n-butyl acetate.