A new platform for chymotrypsin isolation from fresh bovine pancreas using an environmental friendly polyelectrolyte: Alginate

Abstract

The separation of chymotrypsin from a crude filtrate of fresh bovinepancreas homogenate was carried out using precipitation with acommercially available negatively charged natural weak polyelectrolyte:sodium alginate. The zymogen form of the enzyme was activated by theaddition of trypsin at pH 8.2 in the absence of Ca++, then, the enzyme wasprecipitated by sodium alginate addition at pH 5.00. The non-solublecomplex was separated by simple centrifugation and re-dissolved by apH change to 8.20. The recovery of chymotrypsin biological activity was36.1 % of the initial activity in the pancreas homogenate with a 3.2 foldincrease in its specific activity. The volume of the final product decreasedto 6.25 % of the initial feedstock, concentrating the sample up to 16times.