Immobilization of Candida rugosa lipase on colloidal gas aphrons (CGAs)

A novel technique for immobilization of Candida rugosa lipase onto anionic colloidal gas aphrons (CGAs) is described. CGAs are spherical microbubbles (10-100 microm) composed of an inner gas core surrounded by a surfactant shell. In this initial study, greater than 80% lipase (w/w) was effectively retained on the CGAs. Leakage of protein from the CGAs and the activity of the adsorbed lipase decreased with increasing enzyme loading; this indicates that multilayers of lipase may be adsorbing onto the CGAs. The CGA-immobilised lipase displayed normal Michaelis-Menten dependence on substrate concentration and also exhibited greater activity than the free enzyme.