Global concern for the environment has attracted the researchers
to investigate enzymes as replacement of chemical catalysts in
various biochemical processes. The continual exploration of enzymes
and their utilities have expanded their industrial market
with the growth of 7.6% per year (David et al., 2009). Of the various
industrial enzymes, proteases alone contribute approximately 60%
of the total sales in the world (Banik and Prakash, 2004) and bacteria
belonging to genus Bacillus produce most commercial proteases
used today (Maurer, 2004). Proteases are the most versatile
enzyme with a long history of catalytic applications in food and
pharmaceutical industries. Recently, their roles in synthesis of bioactive
peptides and as additive in commercial detergents are gaining
attention. The composition and nature of the surfactants in
detergents greatly manifest the stability of the enzyme. The other
prerequisites for the utilizing proteolytic enzymes in detergent formulations
include their functional ability and stability at alkaline
pH in presence of various surfactants and detergents. The natural
proteases in general are not stable under these conditions (Gupta
et al., 2005). However several physiochemical methods such as
chemical modification, immobilization, entrapment, protein
engineering and directed evolution have been employed for their