Influence of low ultrasound intensity on the degradation of dextran catalyzed by dextranase

In our current research work, the effect of ultrasound irradiation on the enzymatic activity and enzymatic hydrolysis kinetic parameters of dextran catalysis by dextranase were investigated. Furthermore, the effects of ultrasound irradiation on the structure of dextranase were investigated with the aid of fluorescence spectroscopy and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. The maximum activity of dextranase was observed when the sample was treated with ultrasound at 25 kHz, 40 W for 15 min, under which the enzyme activity increased by 13.43% compared the routine thermal incubation at 50 °C. Experimental Kinetics results, demonstrated that, both the Vmax and KM values of dextranase increased with ultrasound-treated compared with the incubation at 50 °C. Likewise, both the catalytic and specificity constants were higher under the effects of an ultrasonic field, indicating that, the substrate is converted into the product at an increased rate when compared with the incubation at 50 °C.On the other hand, fluorescence and CD spectra reflected that the ultrasound irradiation had increased the number of tryptophan on dextranase surface with increased α-helix by 15.74% and reduced random coil by 5.41% upon ultrasound-treated dextranase protein compared to the control, which were helpful for the improvement of its activity.

► We investigated the effect of ultrasound on degradation of dextran by dextranase.
► The maximum activity was observed with ultrasound at 25 kHz, 40 W for 15 min.
► The substrate is converted into the product at an increased rate under ultrasound.
► Ultrasound changed the secondary structure of dextranase and improved its activity.
► Dextranase activity in many industrial applications can improve by using ultrasound.