Bioorganically doped sol-gel materials containing amyloglucosidase activity

Amyloglucosidase (AMG) from Aspergillus niger was encapsulated in various matrices derived from tetraethoxysilane, methyltriethoxysilane, phenyltriethoxysilane and vinyltriacetoxysilane by different methods of immobilization. The immobilized enzyme was prepared by entrapment in two steps, in one-step and entrapment/deposition, respectively. The activities of the immobilized AMG were assayed and compared with that of the native enzyme. The effects of the organosilaneprecursors and their molar ratios, the immobilization method, the inorganic support (white ceramic, red ceramic, purolite, alumina, TiO2, celite, zeolite) and enzyme loading upon the immobilized enzyme activity were tested. The efficiency of the sol-gel biocomposites can be improved through combination of the fundamental immobilization techniques and selection of the precursors.