Cellulase and Xylanase Immobilized on Chitosan Magnetic Particles for Application in Coconut Husk Hydrolysis

Cellulase and xylanase were covalently immobilized on chitosan magnetic particles. They were employed as catalysts to produce reducing sugar from coconut husk individually and simultaneously. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Bradford’s protein analysis confirmed that the enzymes were covalently immobilized on the support. Cellulase from Aspergillus niger and Trichoderma reesei immobilized on chitosan magnetic microparticles yielded 0.352 g/L and 0.316 g/L of reducing sugar respectively, while immobilized xylanase from Trichoderma longibachterium yielded 0.432 g/L. The simultaneous use of cellulase and xylanase produced 0.8034 g/L of sugar, and the addition of glutaraldehyde as a cross-linking agent increased the amount of reducing sugar. Enzyme could maintain its activity at 91% for up to five cycles. Using nanosized particles resulted in a sugar yield of 0.49 g/l and 54.7 % of its activity maintained after five cycles.