Purification of lipase from Chromobacterium viscosum by chromatography on palmitoyl cellulose.

Palmitoyl cellulose was used to adsorb the extracellular lipase [triacylglycerol acyl-hydrolase EC 3.1.1.3] of Chromobacterium viscosum from crude enzyme solution, and the adsorbed enzyme was eluted with a suitable detergent, such as Adekatol 45-S-8 or Triton X-100. The enzyme was then purified by chromatography on a palmitoylated gauze column with an overall recovery of 71% and an increase in the specific activity of 11-fold from the supernatant fluid of bacterial cultures. Further purification procedures included fractionation with acetone, and chromatography on Sephadex G-150 and G-75 columns. Two isoenzymes were obtained, each in a homogeneous state on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis: one had a molecular weight of 120,000 and pI of 3.7 and the other a molecular weight of 30,000 with a pI of 7.3.