Co-immobilization of amyloglucosidase and pullulanase for enhanced starch hydrolysis

Summary Amyloglucosidase and pullulanase were co-immobilized using a hydrophilic polyurethane foam (Hypol^® 2002). The combined amyloglucosidase and pullulanase activity of the immobilized enzyme was 32.2% ± 1.7% relative to the non-immobilized enzyme. The co-immobilized enzymes were capable of using a variety of glycogen and starch substrates. Co-immobilization of amyloglucosidase and pullulanase increased the glucose yield 1.6-fold over immobilized amyloglucosidase alone. No decrease in activity was observed after 4 months storage for the co-immobilized enzymes. The results suggest that co-immobilization of amyloglucosidase and pullulanase in polyurethane foams is a potentially useful approach for commercial starch hydrolysis. Offprint requests to: K. B. Storey