Efficient removal of dextran in sugar juice by immobilized α-dextranase from Chaetomium gracile

Abstract Dextran problem restricts the development of the sugar industry. Although the enzymatic treatment based on α-dextranase from Chaetomium gracile (α-dextranase (CG)) has been effective in solving this issue, the lack of immobilization products hinder its industrial applications. This research described a novel and suitable method to immobilize α-dextranase (CG). The purified α-dextranase (CG) was immobilized via cross-linking using modified chitosan as carriers. In addition, this study used a deep eutectic solvent that greatly improved the enzymatic properties of immobilized α-dextranase (CG). α-dextranase (CG) was immobilized by adding deep eutectic solvent (DES-IM-α-dextranase (CG)) showed better temperature tolerance and storage properties than free and ordinary immobilized counterparts. It can eliminate dextran by 59.71% in mixed sugarcane juice and 38.71% in clarified sugarcane juice. The achieved results were considerably better than those obtained using free and other immobilized enzymes. Altogether, these findings confirmed that DES-IM-α-dextranase (CG) displayed great potential in solving the dextran problem.