Efficient immobilization of pectinase on trichlorotriazine-functionalized polyethylene glycol-grafted magnetic nanoparticles: A stable and robust nanobiocatalyst for fruit juice clarification

Developing an effective strategy to economically exploitation of pectinase, as one of the most widely used enzymes in food industry, is of utmost importance. Herein, pectinase was covalently immobilized onto polyethylene glycol grafted magnetic nanoparticles via trichlorotriazine with high loading efficiency. The generated immobilized pectinase showed enhanced catalytic activity, improved operational stability, and easily reusability. Thermal and pH stabilities studies showed improved performance of immobilized pectinase especially at extreme points. Compared to free enzyme, the noticeably lower K-m and higher v(max) values of immobilized pectinase demonstrated the enhanced catalytic activity of this enzyme after immobilization. Besides, the immobilized enzyme exhibited excellent reusability and stability by retaining up to 55 and 94% of its initial activity after 10 recycles and 125 days storage at 25 degrees C, respectively. Moreover, turbidity reduction occurred up to 59% in treated pineapple juice with immobilized pectinase, suggesting applicability of this system in juice and food-processing industries.