Immobilization of ?- Amylase (1, 4-?-D-Glucanglucanohydralase) by calcium alginate encapsulation

?-Amylase (EC No 3.2.1.1) is a hydrolytic enzyme which hydrolyses long chain carbohydrates. It hydrolyses starch into maltotriose and maltose from amylosemaltose, glucose and limit dextrin from amylopectin. Amylase has wide industrial applications like production of high fructose syrup, ethanol, detergents and so on. Immobilization is a method to enhance the stability and reusability of enzymes. In this study, we have immobilized pancreatic amylase by encapsulation using calcium alginate beads. Immobilized enzyme showed starch hydrolyzing activity similar to free enzyme and it was stable. The activity was found to be 0.2 IU/5 beads and 0.4 IU/10 beads. The activity was determined repeatedly for 5 times and the activity was almost unaltered. Hence, we propose that, this method can be used to produce immobilized amylase which can be used in various areas such as diagnostics, food, medicine and cosmetics