Pectinase: Immobilization and Applications (A Review)

Pectinase or pectinolyticenzyme is a complex enzyme with different catalytic units including polygalacturonase, pectin esterase and pectin lyase to degrade pectin polymers into different end products. The pectinase with degrading capability of pectin can be utilized in various industrial applications, such as clarification of fruits and vegetable juices, degumming of plant bast fibers, textile industries for removing non-cellulosic impurities, papermaking industries, wine clarification, coffee and tea fermentation, wastewater treatment, as well as, it is also used for the isolation of protoplasm in plant science research. Pectin derived oligosaccharides (POS) produced by pectinase are considered as prebiotic molecules. However, the low operational stability in harsh industrial conditions confines the utilization of pectinase in industrial processes. Immobilization is the technique, which not only enhanced the stability of pectinase, but also, made the enzyme reusable for continuous industrial processes. The current review shares information about the pectinase and how the immobilization technology can enhance the industrial application of pectinase. Furthermore, various supports such as sodium alginate, agar-agar, polyacrylamide, aminated silica gel, nanocomposite microspheres, silica coated chitosan, nylon-6, porous glass etc. have been tested for the immobilization of pectinase through different methods, including entrapment, binding to a support and enzyme crosslinking.