Application of Immobilized Enzymes in the Food Industry

Abstract Enzymes are biocatalysts that are used in traditional food processing to improve the rate of reaction. Their industrial application, however, is hampered because of their lack of operational stability, recovery, and the ability for reuse. These drawbacks can be overcome by the technique of immobilization, which is fixing the enzymes in a water-insoluble inert support. They are more resistant to environmental change and can be reused without purification. They exhibit a higher stability toward pH and temperature and are less sensitive toward inhibitors. Different methods of enzyme immobilization are entrapment/microencapsulation, binding with a solid carrier, and cross-linking of enzymes. However, very few of them are commercialized because of their cost. The first industrially used immobilized enzyme was amino acylase, which was applied in the resolution of the racemic mixture of the d - l amino acid. The other two successful immobilized enzymes are immobilized invertase, used in the production of high fructose corn syrup, and immobilized lipase, used in the modification of oil. This technique has the advantage of increased productivity, reduced product recovery cost, and a huge demand in the food industry in the future. This chapter will describe the various enzyme immobilization methods, the need for enzyme immobilization, and its use in the food industry.