Entrapment of <i>Rhizopus oligosporus</i> conidiospores in silica-gel microbeads for stability in exo-inulinase production

This study focuses on optimizing the entrapment of a mutant strain of Rhizopus oligosporus in silica-gel microbeads for elevated extracellular inulinase production through solid-state fermentation, utilizing pressmud as a substrate. The immobilized inulinase activity of the mutant strain (0.743 ± 0.12 U/ml) surpassed that of the free enzyme (0.579 ± 0.21 U/ml) at 1000 mg weight of silica beads, 1.25 ml enzyme concentration, and 20 min procurement time for both strains. A maximum level of fructose sugar (78%) was achieved at a 3% inulin concentration of inulinase by a mutant strain of Rhizopus oligosporus, with a dominant fructose peak at a retention time of 3.392 minutes and an area percentage of 88.61%. This study demonstrates the successful immobilization of a mutant strain of R. oligosporus for enhanced extracellular inulinase production, offering promising prospects for industrial applications in fructose syrup production and other relevant fields.