Separation of Extracellular Esterases from Pellet Cultures of the Basidiomycete Pleurotus sapidus by Foam Fractionation

Two extracellular esterases were produced in submerged cultures of the basidiomycete Pleurotus sapidus. A foam fractionation device was designed and employed for the isolation of the esterolytic enzymes. The recovery of enzyme activity in the liquefied foam strongly depended on the superficial gas velocity. High purification and enrichment factors (E _a = 62.0, P = 15.5) were achieved using nitrogen at 1.87 cm min⁻¹ within 100 min. Increasing the superficial gas velocity to 2.49 cm min⁻¹ improved the recovery of total esterase activity in the foam to >95% at the expense of reduced enrichment and purification factors. Differences in their physicochemical characteristics resulted in differing foaming properties of the two esterases secreted by P. sapidus. By variation of the pH value of the culture medium and addition of Triton X-100, both esterases were successively and quantitatively transferred into the foam in a two-step fractionation process.