Applicability of CIM Monolith Based Immobilized Trypsin Reactors for Continuous β-Lactoglobulin Hydrolysis

Coupling trypsin enzyme onto chromatographic supports provides a platform to reuse the enzyme and automate the hydrolysis process. A monolithic chromatographic support, such as Convective Interaction Media (CIM), enables mass transfer of molecules within its channels exclusively by convective flow. This results in enzymatic conversion which is not limited by diffusion, making CIM monoliths ideal for the preparation of immobilized monolith enzymatic reactors (IMERs). Sartorius BIA Separations offers CIMac trypsin IMER with a bed volume of 0.1 mL as analytical platform for mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics. Larger volume IMERs (up to 80 mL) are available for industrial scale production of protein hydrolysates. The following example describes the enzymatic production of β-Lactoglobulin (β-Lg) hydrolysates using monoliths with 2 μm (N1) or 6 μm (N2) average channel diameter.