In this paper, the separation and purification of nattokinase have been reviewed by primarily focusing on solvent precipitation, adsorption column chromatography, magnetic microspheres, expanded bed, reverse micelle, and three-phase separation methods. The different methods for determination of the enzyme activity have been discussed and compared. Finally, the feasibility that the nucleic acid-based identification techniques can be used for nattokinase purification and enzyme activity assay has been proposed.
Keywords: enzyme activity; nattokinase; review; separation purification.