Strategies to Reuse Cellulase: Immobilization of Enzymes (Part II)

Industrial applications need enzymes that are economically viable and highly stable in terms of reusability, thus increasing practicability. The immobilization of cellulases is reported here using different chemical methods and polymeric supports. High costs of cellulases are one of the many obstacles for commercialization of biomass biorefineries. Cellulase immobilization allows the conditions of use of enzyme again and again retaining its activity and reducing production costs to use it for industrial application. Enzyme immobilization is accomplished by adsorption, entrapment, covalent binding, cross-linking, and encapsulation. Support material acts as a carrier for immobilized enzyme, having mechanical strength, large surface area, resistance to microbial attack, and many surface groups promoting interaction with enzyme. One procedure where no support is used is the formation of cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEA) in which enzyme cross-links with other enzyme-forming insoluble aggregate.