Introduction:

Currently, the Cuban sugar group AZCUBA's priority is to produce glucose from refined sugar, as it is a fundamental raw material in sorbitol production. Sorbitol is a component used in toothpaste elaboration. Glucose can be obtained by acidic or enzymatic inversion (hydrolysis). Enzymatic hydrolysis has some advantages related to reducing corrosion level of industrial equipment and obtaining better final product quality.

Objective:

To find the best combination of reaction temperature, enzyme concentration and solution brix levels that minimize sucrose inversion time using genetically modified GS115BfrA4X Pichia Pastoris enzyme as a hydrolysis catalyst, to express the invertase from Thermotoga maritima, with an optimal pH of 5.5 and an optimal temperature of 80-900C.

Materials and Methods:

To obtain the best conditions for enzymatic inversion, the effect of varying the reaction temperature, enzyme concentration and solution brix on the inversion time was studied, using the Statgraphics Centurion XVI, starting from a Box-Behnken design of surface response at three levels for each factor.

Results and Discussion:

It was possible to identify an optimal combination of factors (Temp. = 85 °C, Brix = 80% and Enzyme = 23 U/g sucrose).

Conclusions:

Reaction temperature and enzyme concentration have a significant effect, with 95% confidence, on the sucrose inversion time.

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