RESUMO
The main objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of ultrasound irradiation on the activity of a commercial amylase. A central composite design was carried out to assess the effects of temperature and pH on the enzyme activity in the presence and absence of ultrasound irradiation. The activation energy, the influence of treatment time as well as the substrate concentration on enzyme activity were also determined in the presence and absence of ultrasound irradiation. The results demonstrated that the effect of temperature was less pronounced in the presence of ultrasound, resulting in a decreasing of about 80% in the activation energy in comparison with the value obtained in the absence. The enzyme showed activities about 3 times higher for temperatures up to 40 °C in the presence of ultrasound. The pH negatively affected the activity in the presence of ultrasound, whereas in the absence a positive effect was verified. The ultrasound irradiation is a promising technology to be used in enzymatic reaction due to its positive effects on enzyme activity.