Indian Journal of Science and Technology

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We report here a novel keratinase from Bacillus subtilis that has the potential to replace sodium sulfide in the dehairing process of leather industry. The Protease enzyme produced at laboratory condition has been characterized for its rate of enzyme production, and the environmental influencing factors such as pH and temperature on the activity of the enzyme has also been evaluated. The enzyme produced in pilot scale has been subjected to in vitro (spectrophotometrically) as well as in vivo assay (on wet goat skin for hair removal). The organism grown in the Dye's synthetic medium at 5.3mg/ml of cell dry weight produced 548 U/ml of protease. The in vitro enzyme activity increased with temperature within a range of 25°C to 35°C and found maximum at 45°C and at pH 11. An index of dehairing comparable to the use of conventional sodium sulfide method was achieved in 7 h of its application on wet goat skin.

Keywords

Protease Enzyme, Leather Industry, Bacillus Sp, Dehairing of Skin
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