Different materials viz. alginate, K-carrageenan and polyacrylamide gel were examined for immobilization of whole cells of Aspergillus niger (ANT 90). The enzyme activity of whole cells immobilised in K-carrageenan and polyacrylamide gel was low in comparison to these immobilized with alginate. Different concentrations of alginate were tried to study their effect on lipase production. Maximum production was observed with 3% alginate and beads with 60 min curing time (4230 U/l). Olive oil was shown to increase lipase production in both free and immobilized cells. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd.