Glassy state and thermal inactivation of invertase and lactase in dried amorphous matrices

The thermal stability of enzymes lactase and invertase in dried, amorphous matrices of sugars (trehalose, maltose, lactose, sucrose, raffinose) and some other selected systems (casein, PVP, milk) was studied. The glass transition temperature (Tg) was limited as a threshold parameter for predicting enzyme inactivation because (a) enzyme inactivation was observed in glassy matrices, (b) a specific effect of enzyme stabilization by certain matrices particularly trehalose was observed, and (c) enzyme stability appeared to depend on heating temperature (T) "per se" rather than (T-Tg). For these reasons, a protective mechanism by sugars related to the maintenance of the tertiary structure of the enzyme was favored. A rapid loss of enzyme (lactase) activity was observed in heated sucrose systems at T > Tg, and this was attributed to sucrose crystallization since it is known that upon crystallization the protective effect of sugars is lost. Thus, the stabilizing effect could be indirectly affected by the Tg of the matrix, since crystallization of sugars only occurs above Tg. Trehalose model systems (with added invertase) showed an exceptional stability toward "darkening" (e.g., non-enzymatic browning) when heated in the dried state to elevated temperatures and for long periods of time.