Inactivation thermodynamics and iso-kinetic profiling for evaluating operational suitability of milk clotting enzyme immobilized in composite polymer matrix

Milk clotting enzyme (MCE) was immobilized in alginate-pectate interwoven gel with the yield of 73%. The encapsulated enzyme retained most of the protein load while soluble enzyme lost major proportion of activity after few hours. The immobilized enzyme showed high operational stability by retaining 40% activity even after 10 uses. The narrow optimal working pH of soluble enzyme changed to a broader range after encapsulation and a shift in optimum temperature from 45 to 50 °C was also recorded for encapsulated enzyme. Studies on isokinetic temperature showed that immobilized enzyme is more thermo-stable at higher temperature. Immobilization, therefore, not only improved the catalytic properties and stability but also its suitability in food processes like cheese preparation with reduced cost and time.