Characterization of glucoamylase adsorption to raw starch

The adsorption of Aspergillus niger glucoamylase forms (GA-I and GA-II) to raw corn starch was studied as a function of pH, ionic strength, and temperature. A three-parameter model was developed to account for the specific and nonspecific adsorption of GA-I to starch. The adsorption of the GA-II form to raw starch was weak and independent of the pH and ionic strength of the mixture. GA-I was bound strongly to the starch surface, with association constant values ranging from 2 to 5 × 10⁶ M⁻¹. Maximum adsorption capacities (saturation concentrations) Q_max for GA-I were affected by pH, inonic strength, and temperature and varied between 1.6 and 4.3 mg protein g⁻¹ starch. The tightly bound GA-I could be specifically eluted from the starch surface with maltose, maltodextrin, or soluble starch. The adsorption of GA-II to starch in the presence of acarbose (glucoamylase activity inhibitor) indicated that the active site participates minimally in the adsorption process. The comparison of the distribution coefficients of GA-I and GA-II showed that the starch-binding domain, present only in GA-I, increases the affinity of GA-I for starch by two orders of magnitude.     

Multiple forms of a glucoamylase inhibitory factor fromAspergillus niger and its elution after adsorption onto raw wheat starch

An inhibitory factor (IF) fromAspergillus niger, that inhibited the action of glucoamylase on raw starch, was adsorbed tightly onto raw starch but was almost completely desorbed by 0.02m sodium borate. The IF was a glycoprotein and was partially purified by ion exchange chromatography into three active fractions.     

Pretreatment of starch raw materials and their enzymatic hydrolysis by immobilized glucoamylase

The pretreatment of starch raw materials such as sweet potato, potato and cassava has been carried out using various types of crusher, viz juice mixer, homogenizer and high-speed planetary mill. The effect of pretreatment of the materials on their enzymatic hydrolysis was studied. High-speed planetary mill treatment was the most effective and comparable with heat treatment (pasting). Various crushing times were used to examine the effect of crushing by mill treatment on the enzymatic hydrolysis. In the enzymatic hydrolysis of cassava, the use of both cellulase [1,4-(1,3; 1,4)-β-d-glucan 4-glucanohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.4] and glucoamylase [1,4-α-d-glucan glucohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.3] enhanced the d-glucose yield. The immobilization of glucoamylase was studied by radiation polymerization of hydrophilic monomers at low temperature, and it was found that enzymatic activity of the immobilized glucoamylase particles varied with monomer concentration and particle size. Starchy raw materials pretreated with the mill can be efficiently hydrolysed by immobilized glucoamylase.     

Behaviour of Endomycopsis fibuligera glucoamylase towards raw starch

An extracellular glucoamylase [exo-1,4-α-d-glucosidase, 1,4-α-d-glucan glucohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.3] of Endomycopsis fibuligera has been purified and some of its properties studied. It had a very high debranching activity (0.63). The enzyme was completely adsorbed onto raw starch at all the pH values tested (pH 2.0–7.6). Amylase inhibitor from Streptomyces sp. did not prevent the adsorption of glucoamylase onto raw starch although the enzyme did not digest raw starch in the presence of amylase inhibitor. Sodium borate (0.1 m) eluted only 35% of the adsorbed enzyme from raw starch. The optimum pH for raw starch digestion was 4.5 whereas that of boiled soluble starch hydrolysis was 5.5. Waxy starches were more easily digested than non-waxy starches, and root starches were slowly digested by this enzyme.     

A kinetic expression for hydrolysis of soluble starch by glucoamylase

As the hydrolysis of starch by glucoamylase proceeds with stepwise removal of glucose units from the nonreducing ends of the starch chain, the number of available substrate molecules is essentially unchanged in the course of the degradation. In view of this aspect, a simple practical kinetic expression, which consists of a modified Michaelis-Menten form with product inhibition, is presented for the hydrolysis of soluble starch. It is assumed that the values of kinetic parameters V(m) and K(m) vary linearly from the values for starch toward those for maltose. The applicability of this kinetic expression is verified through the simulation with the experimental results for the hydrolysis of two soluble starches with different average molecular weights of 3 x 10(4) and 3 x 10(6).     

Specific inhibition by cyclodextrins of raw starch digestion by fungal glucoamylase.

alpha-, beta-, and gamma-cyclodextrins (CDs) completely inhibited raw starch digestion by glucoamylase I (GA I, MW 90,000) from Aspergillus awamori var. kawachi, and inhibited by 85% the raw starch adsorption of GA I at the CD concentrations of 1-5 mM. CDs at 1-5 mM did not inhibit gelatinized starch hydrolysis by GA I, but at the concentration of 50 mM, they inhibited such hydrolysis slightly. GA I was specifically adsorbed onto CD-Sepharose 6B, but glucoamylase I' (GA I', MW 73,000), which does not adsorb onto or digest raw starch, from the same strain was not adsorbed onto that gel. The adsorption of the glucoamylases onto raw starch and CD-Sepharose 6B was correlated to their digestion of raw starch. The hydrophobic adsorption of GA I onto CDs and raw starch occurred competitively at the Cp region, which is on the C-terminal side of Gp-I in the site for raw starch affinity of GA I, and inclusion complexes were formed.     

Synergistic action of alpha-amylase and glucoamylase on hydrolysis of starch

Synergistic action of alpha-amylase and glucoamylase on hydrolysis of starch is modeled by the kinetic equations presented in this paper. At the early stage of the reaction alpha-amylase acts as a contributor of newly formed nonreducing ends of starch molecules to glucoamylase by splitting the original starch molecules. This is expressed by the simultaneous differential equations which consist of each rate equation for alpha-amylase and glucoamylase. After the molecular weight of the substrate decreases to the value of about 5000, which is obtained experimentally in this work, the action of alpha-amylase can be neglected and the rate of formation of glucose obeys only the rate equation for glucoamylase.     

Some characteristics of a raw starch digestion inhibitory factor fromAspergillus niger

Summary The effect of an inhibitory factor (IF) fromAspergillus niger 19 on raw starch digestion by pure glucoamylase I of blackAspergillus, pure glucoamylae ofRhizopus niveus, bacterial -amylase, fungal -amylase and various combination was investigated. The IF caused higher inhibition of raw starch hydrolysis by the combined action of glucoamylase and fungal -amylase than of hydrolysis by the individual enzymes. A protein moiety of IF might play an active part in this inhibition phenomenon. The IF was bound to starch granules, preventing hydrolysis by the enzymes, and caused decreased raw starch hydrolysis yields.     

Application of artificial neural networks to modelling of starch hydrolysis by glucoamylase

The applicability of neural networks to the dynamic modelling of starch hydrolysis by Aspergillus niger glucoamylase is studied. The advantage of this technique is the possibility of predicting the reaction curves without a detailed kinetic model. Two independent neural models were proposed to predict the concentration of the products and conversion degree of the substrate at the end of the reaction (Model 1) as well as the reaction courses in the first stage when the sharp changes in the reaction rate are observed (Model 2). The results of simulations prove the ability of neural-network models to describe the complex kinetics of starch hydrolysis by glucoamylase.     

Production and characteristics of inhibitory factor of raw starch digestion from Aspergillus niger

Summary The glucoamylase preparation of Aspergillus niger 19 inhibited the raw starch digestion by it at high enzyme concentration. The inhibitory factor (IF) was isolated from the glucoamylase preparation by heat treatment and purified by DEAE-Sephadex A-25 column chromatography, an initial Sephadex G-50 gel filtration followed by SP-Sephadex C-25 column chromatography (twice) and then second Sephadex G-50 gel filtration. The IF thus purified was homogenous in polyacrylamide gel electrophories. The inhibitory activity of IF increased with the increasing IF concentration but decreased with an increasing quantity of raw starch or enzyme concentration. The IF had no effect on the hydrolysis of boiled soluble starch. It was completely adsorbed onto raw starch. The IF had a molecular weight of about 10,500. It was abundant in hydroxy amino acids such as threonine and serine. Xylose, mannose, glucose, galactose, and galacturonic acid were present in it.     

Effect of pore diffusion limitation on dextrin hydrolysis by immobilized glucoamylase

Data reported here and previously indicate that when dextrin is hydrolyzed in the presence of immobilized glucoamylase, use of a larger average molecular weight substrate leads to lower overall rates of hydrolysis, while the maltose concentration during the bulk of the reaction and the maximum glucose concentration are lower than when the soluble form of the enzyme is employed under the same conditions. Computer simulation of the system demonstrated that all three observations were caused by pore diffusion limitation: the first by slow diffusion of substrate, the second by slow diffusion of intermediates, and the third by slow diffusion of glucose. Follow-up experiments with glucoamylase immobilized to particles of different sizes confirmed this finding, as results with the smallest beads were identical to those with soluble glucoamylase.     

Kinetics of condensation of glucose into maltose and isomaltose in hydrolysis of starch by glucoamylase

Kinetics of the condensation of glucose into maltose and isomaltose in the hydrolysis of starch by two types of glucoamylase (from Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus niveus) was studied both experimentally and theoretically. A kinetic model for the hydrolysis of starch by glucoamylase from A. niger was proposed. In this model the reversible hydrolysis of maltose and isomaltose and the kinetic parameters change were taken into consideration. Calculated values agreed approximately with the experimental results, and this simple kinetic model was found to have practical use. The rate of condensation of glucose into isomaltose by enzyme from A. niger was about three times larger than that by enzyme from R. niveus. At a higher initial concentration of starch a large amount of isomaltose was reversed, and the glucose yield was reduced significantly after very long reaction times.     

Immobilization of glucoamylase by adsorption on carbon supports and its application for heterogeneous hydrolysis of dextrin

Glucoamylase (GA) was immobilized by adsorption on carbon support: on Sibunit, on bulk catalytic filamentous carbon (bulk CFC) and on activated carbon (AC). This was used to prepare heterogeneous biocatalysts for the hydrolysis of starch dextrin. The effect of the texture characteristics and chemical properties of the support surface on the enhancement of the thermal stability of the immobilized enzyme was studied, and the rates of the biocatalyst's thermal inactivation at 65-80 degrees C were determined. The thermal stability of glucoamylase immobilized on different carbon supports was found to increase by 2-3 orders of magnitude in comparison with the soluble enzyme, and decrease in the following order: GA on Sibunit>GA on bulk CFC>GA on AC. The presence of the substrate (dextrin) was found to have a significant stabilizing effect. The thermal stability of the immobilized enzyme was found to increase linearly when the concentration of dextrin was increased from 10 wt/vol % to 50 wt/vol %. The total stabilization effect for glucoamylase immobilized on Sibunit in concentrated dextrin solutions was about 10(5) in comparison with the enzyme in a buffer solution. The developed biocatalyst, 'Glucoamylase on Sibunit' was found to have high operational stability during the continuous hydrolysis of 30-35 wt/vol % dextrin at 60 degrees C, its inactivation half-time (t1/2) exceeding 350 h. To improve the starch saccharification productivity, an immersed vortex reactor (IVR) was designed and tested in the heterogeneous process with the biocatalyst 'Glucoamylase on Sibunit'. The dextrin hydrolysis rate, as well as the process productivity in the vortex reactor, was found to increase by a factor of 1.2-1.5 in comparison with the packed-bed reactor.     

Complete starch hydrolysis by the synergistic action of amylase and glucoamylase: impact of calcium ions

Starch hydrolysis was performed by the synergistic action of amylase and glucoamylase. For that purpose glucoamylase (Dextrozyme) and two amylases (Liquozyme and Termamyl) in different combinations were investigated. Experiments were carried out in the repetitive- and fed-batch modes at 65 °C and pH 5.5 with and without the addition of Ca²⁺ ions. 100 % conversion of starch to glucose was achieved in batch experiments. Calcium ions significantly enhanced stability of the amylase Termamyl. The intensity of synergism between amylase Termamyl and glucoamylase Dextrozyme was higher than in the experiments carried out with amylase Liquozyme and Dextrozyme. Mathematical model of the complete reaction system was developed. Using the model, a possible explanation of the synergism between the amylase and glucoamylase was provided.     

Different behavior towards raw starch of three forms of glucoamylase from a Rhizopus sp

Three forms of glucoamylase [EC 3.2.1.3] of a Rhizopus sp., Gluc1 (M.W. 74,000), Gluc2 (M.W. 58,600), and Gluc3 (M.W. 61,400), which have similar pH optima and specific activities towards soluble starch were studied as to their behavior towards raw starch. The pH optima for raw starch digestion were different, that is, 4.5 for Gluc1 and 5.0 for both Gluc2 and Gluc3. All the enzymes digested raw starch almost completely but at quite different rates; Gluc2 and Gluc3, which lack the N-terminal portions of Gluc1, were 22 and 25 times less effective, respectively, for raw starch digestion than Gluc1. Of the three enzymes, only Gluc1 tightly bound to raw starch. Binding of Gluc1 to raw starch occurred pH-dependently with a broad pH optimum of 4.5-5.5, but temperature and ionic strength affected it only slightly and little, respectively. The binding constant of Gluc1 for raw starch at pH 5.0 and 4 degrees C was estimated to be 1.2 X 10(5) M-1. Fragment H (M.W. 16,700), presumably released from the N-terminal part of Gluc1, not only bound to raw starch itself but also inhibited the binding of Gluc1 to raw starch. pap-Gluc (M.W. 57,000) and chymo-Gluc (M.W. 64,000), which are papain- and chymotrypsin-modified Gluc1, respectively, and lack the N-terminal portions of Gluc1, resembled Gluc2 and Gluc3 in raw starch binding as well as digestion. All these results indicate that Gluc1 has a raw starch-binding site, different from the active center, in the N-terminal region. Various substrates and analogs inhibited the binding of Gluc1 to raw starch, presumably due to steric hindrance.     

Production of an amylase-degrading raw starch by Gibberella pulicaris

An endophytic fungus, Gibberella pulicaris, produced an amylase which degraded raw starches from cereals and other crops including raw potato, sago, tapioca, corn, wheat and rice starch. In each case, glucose was the main product. Among the raw starches used, raw potato starch gave the highest enzyme activity (85 units mg^–1 protein) and raw wheat starch the lowest (49 units mg^–1 protein). The highest amylase production (260 units mg^–1 protein) was achieved when the concentration of raw potato starch was increased to 60 g l^–1. Optimum hydrolysis was at 40°C and pH 5.5.