" UNIT 51 : GENERAL PRINCIPLES FOR INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION OF MICROBIAL

EXTRACELLULAR ENZYMES

Very little specific information has been presented in the public domain that details the particular

methods applied to the production of any one enzyme. This is largely due to the extremely competitive

state of enzyme production and marketing resulting in very real differences in the way each producer

arrives at a cost-effective process for his products.

There are some main steps of enzyme production as follow:

1. The Production Strain

Some principal microorganisms that have found acceptance for production of industrial enzymes.

The species listed are generally considered to present the least risk of toxin production during

fermentation as well as being non-pathogenic to man.

Bacillus species are comparatively easy to isolate and despite the problems associated with spore

formation, many have been isolated as non-sporing strains. The Aspergilli are similarly placed amongst

the fungi, although the formation of conidial spores is desirable for the ease of inoculation of large-scale

fermentations. In every case, the strain selected for production will have a highly improved enzyme

producing capability compared with the wild strains and will have undergone stringent screening to

ensure that it does not produce toxins or antibiotics in order to meet increasingly stringent standards for

food applications of enzyme product.

2. Fermentation

The choice of fermentation method lies between ‘solid state’ (which is also called semi-solid) and

submerged or ‘deep’ fermentation. In rare cases the organism will dictate the choice by virtue of either

non-production or low yields by one method. Generally, however, the nature of the final enzyme product

and its designated performance objective determine the method. Enzymes from solid state cultivation are

generally found to be complex mixtures, often including amylase, protease, lipase and non-starch

carbonhydrases in definite proportions that are regulated by the cultivation. If a high level of a single

activity is desired, it is commonly produced by submerged fermentation.

Submerged ‘deep’ fermentation has been adopted as the most economic route for the preparation of

bulk industrial enzymes. Suspended insoluble nutrients and inexpensive additional sources of nitrogen,

phosphate and trace elements in soluble forms are used. The medium selected must support good growth

of the microorganism and be as inexpensive as possible. Soybean meal, starch hydrolysates and corn

steep liquor dominate the list of typical ingredients. The specific additional growth the enzyme synthesis

stimulating requirements are determined for each organism selected as a production strain.

Despite great developments of sophisticated instrument monitoring of research fermentations, the

industrial enzyme fermentation system utilizes basic but large fermentation equipment. Main vessels can

reach 150 m3 in practice and they are an essential feature of the economics of bulk processing. Controls to

monitor pH, temperature and in some cases dissolved oxygen, are typical. Where the use of suspended

medium is encountered, it is often necessary to have efficient foam detection and antifoam treatment as an

extra control facility. Bulk medium is generally prepared separately in tanks that allow pH adjustment and
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direct or heat exchange steam sterilization. Most systems pump the sterile medium into the fermentation

vessels that have been previously sterilized with live steam.

3. Broth Purification

The bran extract or fermentation broth contain the enzyme, residues of the suspended medium

components, the soluble medium components and the cells of the fermented microorganism. Initially, the

solids are removed by filtration or centrifugation aided by the use of flocculents to increase the particle size,

e.g. calcium salts, polyelectrolytes and aluminum salts typified by modern water treatment methods. It is

common to load a proportion of diatomaceous earth or other filter aid into the stirred broth before filtration,

which is most often performed on rotary vacuum filters. Where centrifugation is adopted, the high-speed

disc machine with continuous operation is preferred.

Concentration of enzyme liquids is a compromise between energy efficiency and activity loss. Low

temperature vacuum evaporation is most commonly applied to stable enzymes and ultrafiltration is used

for the more sensitive products, since it can successfully be performed at temperatures around 5 oC.

Purification is usually necessary both to eliminate microorganisms and to reduce the preparation to

the lowest practical contamination with other enzymes produced by the fermentation. Polishing and germ

filtration steps are able to remove microorganisms and a series of precipitations may be performed to

select the desired enzyme. The addition of an inorganic salt such as sodium or ammonium sulfate to a

specified concentration will precipitate a range of proteins which may include the desired enzyme or

leave it in the soluble phase. Further solution and precipitation stages may be performed with different

concentrations of precipitant to achieve a desired purification. Organic solvents that lower the dielectric

constant of the system and so reduce the solubility of proteins are also used to precipitate enzymes. The

most effective treatments are performed using chilled solvents and adding them to the aqueous broth,

whose pH has been adjusted to the isoelectric value for the enzyme being processed.

Purified liquid enzymes are standardized by dilution and the diluents generally include stabilizing

salts, polyalcohols or sugars and any permitted preservatives deemed necessary. In the limited

applications where a dry enzyme product is required, it is now recognized that the spray drying should

include a granulation to minimize the potential hazards of dusty, dry products. The inhalation of any

protein dust is likely to increase the risk of allergic response to further exposures to the same protein and

it is recommended to take full precautions when handling enzymes in powder form. Granulation will follow standardization with acceptable materials such as sugars, starch, flour or inorganic salts.

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