Influence of external mass transfer limitation on apparent kinetic parameters of penicillin G acylase immobilized on nonporous ultrafine silica particles

Immobilization of enzymes on nonporous supports provides a suitable model for investigating the effect of external mass transfer limitation on the reaction rate in the absence of internal diffusional resistance. In this study, deacylation of penicillin G was investigated using penicillin acylase immobilized on ultrafine silica particles. Kinetic studies were performed within the low-substrate-concentration region, where the external mass transfer limitation becomes significant. To predict the apparent kinetic parameters and the overall effectiveness factor, knowledge of the external mass transfer coefficient, k(L)a, is necessary. Although various correlations exist for estimation of kLa, in this study, an optimization scheme was utilized to obtain this coefficient. Using the optimum values of k(L)a, the initial reaction rates were predicted and found to be in good agreement with the experimental data.