Immobilization of acid phosphatase from Vigna aconitifolia seeds on chitosan beads and its characterization.

Acid phosphatase isolated from Vigna aconitifolia seeds was immobilized onto glutaraldehyde activated chitosan beads by crosslinking method. Chitosan beads activated with 2% of glutaraldehyde have demonstrated maximum immobilization yield (∼ 83%). The immobilized enzyme showed optimum activity at pH 7.0, while soluble form was maximally active in acidic range (pH 5.0). With respect to free form, immobilized acid phosphatase showed better activity in alkaline range. On the other side, immobilization does not affect the optimum temperature range i.e., both, soluble and immobilized acid phosphatase exhibited maximum activity at 60 °C. The Km and Vmax values for the immobilized enzyme were calculated to be 0.37 mM and 13.5 U/mg. The immobilization on chitosan beads enhanced the shelf life of acid phosphatase. The immobilized enzyme retained its more than 50% hydrolytic activity for approximately two months. The immobilized acid phosphatase was reusable for more than 40 cycles of reaction.