Abstract
Penicillin amidohydrolase was partially purified from the fermented broth of Bacillus megaterium, and was immobilized on nylon fiber. The surface area of nylon fiber was increased by roughening it with fine sand and activated by acid treatment. The free amino groups on the nylon fiber exposed by such treatment were then utilized to immobilize the penicillin amidase. Enzymatic properties of penicillin amidohydrolase immobilized on the nylon fiber by covalent bonding and cross linking with glutaraldehyde were studied and compared with those of soluble enzyme. The optimal pH and temperature profile of immobilized enzyme showed only slightly broader peaks, and the values of kinetic constants, $K_m$, $K_{ia}$, and $K_{ip}$, of the immobilized enzyme are only slightly greater than those of the soluble enzyme. These results suggest that the mass transfer effect on the reaction rate for the penicillin amidase immobilized on nylon fiber is not so significant as the enzyme immobilized on some other support material like bentonite. The experimental results of batch reaction agreed well with the results of computer simulation for both the immobilized and soluble enzyme systems, confirming the validity of the rate equation derived which was based on the combined double inhibition by two reaction products.