Use of mCLEAs of glycosidases to hydrolyse microalgal extracts

Abstract

[EN] Microalgae have features that make them ideal to produce biofuels. For instance, their starch can be used for bioethanol production. However, its degradation by glycosidases as soluble enzymes is expensive. To reduce its costs, biocatalysts can be easily recovered if they are immobilized as magnetic Cross-Linked Enzyme Aggregates (mCLEAs). This work helped characterise degradation of microalgal extracts by two glycosidases (alpha-amylase and amyloglucosidase) as soluble enzymes and as mCLEAs. Specifically, the effect of a thermal pretreatment of the microalgal extract, activation of alpha-amylase by calcium ions, and the optimum pH of activity for both types of mCLEAs was studied.