Immobilization of β-galactosidases

Enzymes are playing a central role in many industrial processes like never before. This is mainly due to the significant benefits offered by biocatalysis in terms of moderate reaction conditions and specificity. However, while moving from bench to industrial scale, many small hurdles acquire a significant dimension. For instance, the problem of enzyme recovery, sensitivity to reaction conditions, and product recovery. β-galactosidases, which are essential enzymes in the food industry, are no exception to this. Fortunately, the strategies used in overcoming the challenges faced in the industrial scale-up and taming of other enzymes have been effective in β-galactosidases as well. As advances in material sciences are witnessed, enzyme immobilization technologies also see a revamp as scientists try to make the new matrices work for enzymes. Thus enzyme immobilization is an ever-evolving field necessitating frequent updates.