Immobilization of Fungal Laccase on Keratin-Coated Soil and Glass Matrices

Laccase enzymes from Cerrena unicolor and Trametes versicolor were immobilized on the activated glass beads (CPG), silica gel (SG) and soil (SL). The heterogeneous matrices were activated by ${\gamma}$-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and glutaraldehyde (GA), and their surfaces were coated by keratin (KER) on activated or non-activated CPG, SG and SL. The laccase activities were tested in the aqueous solution for the native and immobilized preparations using different pH and temperature conditions. By keratin coating on supports, in the cases of CPG-KER and SL-KER, the immobilization yield was increased from about 80% to 90%. Moreover, much less protein was immobilized in keratin coated matrices than in inorganic ones alone (e.g. on CPG-KER 57.6%, whereas on CPG alone 80.6%). Laccase immobilization on keratin coated inorganic matrices was generally more effective than that of non-coated matrices. Concerned to pH dependency, the optima pH for immobilized laccases generally shifted towards to higher values, 5.5-5.8 and even 5.9 in the case of keratin for C. unicolor and from 5.3 to 5.7 for T. versicolor, respectively, and decreased less gradually both in acidic and alkaline regions. The immobilized laccase was more stable against thermal denaturation. This seems particularly true at $75^{\circ}C$ in the case of C. unicolor, where the activity of immobilized enzyme is > 50% higher than that of the free enzyme. For T. versicolor the respective values were $65^{\circ}C$, and 50%.