Activity of an enzyme immobilized on superparamagnetic particles in a rotational magnetic field

Abstract

We immobilize alpha-amylase extracted from Bacillus Iicheniformis on the surfaces of superparamagnetic particles and investigate the effect of a rotational magnetic field on the enzyme's activity. We find that the activity of the enzyme molecules immobilized on superparamagnetic particles increases in the rotational magnetic field and reaches maximum at a certain frequency. We clarify the effect of the cluster structures formed by the superparamagnetic particles on the activity. Enzyme reactions are enhanced even in a tiny volume of solution using the present method, which is very important for the development of efficient micro reactors and micro total analysis systems (mu-TAS).