Amlyase Test

Some enzymes are added to cleaning products like detergent in order to improve the washing performance and efficiency of the product. Two of the most common enzymes used in detergents that Joe utilizes are proteases and amylases, which are considered active ingredients, because they help break down stains faster and more easily. Amlyase is an enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of starch into its monomers (this relates to not only catalysts and enzymes in biology, but also to polymer chemistry!). Ogliosaccharides, dextrins, and maltose, which are monomers of starch, are soluble, so it causes the stain to be physically cut off from the surface. Protease is similar to amylase, because it carries out hydrolysis in order to synthesize a large protein molecule by creating peptide bonds to join amino acids together. The proteins synthesized by protease are used to remove protein-based stains that are usually very difficult to get rid of.

Above is part of a starch molecule that can be broken down into maltose monomers by hydrolysis, catalyzed by the enzyme amylase.

Joe, the QC chemist, uses a variety of tests such as amylase test tablets to analyze the activity of amylase or other enzymes in the samples of cleaning products. The tablets are starch polymer chains that are interlinked to form spheres called bio-degradable starch microspheres (DSMs), which are insoluble in water. A water soluble blue dye is also added to the DSMs, but the whole thing still remains insoluble. The tablets are placed into the sample of the cleaning product being tested that has alpha-amylase in it, and the DSMs begin to be degraded by the enzyme. The blue dye will then be isolated from the DSM, and this is the key to measuring amylase activity levels. The dye can be measured in a spectrophotometer (it uses the measurement of reflection/transmission as a function of wavelength), and the concentration of the dye is proportional to amylase activity. Amylase levels must be in the right range to ensure that the product has enough active chemical in order to perform efficiently, but not too much to the point where the breakdown of starch is overpowering, causing other vital components of the detergent to be broken down as well. The use of enzyme as a catalyst and polymers/monomers is applied right here in quality control chemistry.

Here is a picture illustrating how DSM works. In this situation, DSM is used to stimulate blood clotting rather than indicate amylase activity levels. The blue dye is also evident in this picture.