Preparation of immobilized enzyme gel particles using an electrostatic atomization technique

To prepare small size particles of immobilized enzyme with high catalytic e ffectiveness factor, an electrostatic atomization technique was applied. So dium-alginate solution containing enzyme was dispersed dropwise into CaCl2 aqueous solution by applying do high voltage to prepare gel beads. The cata lytic performance of the prepared immobilized-enzyme particles is described with evaluating the effectiveness factor. The prepared beads had the minimum diameter of 100 mum, which was one order smaller than that attainable by conventional dropping methods. The diamete r can be controlled by changing the operating conditions, such as applied v oltage and volumetric flow rate of the solution. The immobilized enzyme par ticles had higher effectiveness factors compared to those prepared by conve ntional methods. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.