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Preparation of biocatalytic nanofibres with high activity and stability via enzyme aggregate coating on polymer nanofibres

Byoung Chan Kim1, Sujith Nair2, Jungbae Kim3,4, Ja Hun Kwak3, Jay W Grate3, Seong H Kim2,4 and Man Bock Gu1,4

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We have developed a unique approach for the fabrication of enzyme aggregate coatings on the surfaces of electrospun polymer nanofibres. This approach employs covalent attachment of seed enzymes onto nanofibres consisting of a mixture of polystyrene and poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride), followed by a glutaraldehyde (GA) treatment that cross-links additional enzyme molecules and aggregates from the solution onto the covalently attached seed enzyme molecules. These cross-linked enzyme aggregates, covalently attached to the nanofibres via the linkers of seed enzyme molecules, are expected to improve the enzyme activity due to increased enzyme loading, and also the enzyme stability. To demonstrate the principle, we coated α-chymotrypsin (CT) on nanofibres electrospun from a mixture of polystyrene and poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride). The initial activity of CT-aggregate-coated nanofibres was nine times higher than nanofibres with just a layer of covalently attached CT molecules. The enzyme stability of CT-aggregate-coated nanofibres was greatly improved with essentially no measurable loss of activity over a month of observation under rigorous shaking conditions. This new approach of enzyme coating on nanofibres, yielding high activity and stability, creates a useful new biocatalytic immobilized enzyme system with potential applications in bioconversion, bioremediation, and biosensors.


PACS

81.16.Hc Catalytic methods

87.80.-y Biophysical techniques (research methods)

82.35.Np Nanoparticles in polymers

87.14.E- Proteins

87.15.N- Properties of solutions of macromolecules

Subjects

Soft matter, liquids and polymers

Instrumentation and measurement

Medical physics

Biological physics

Nanoscale science and low-D systems

Chemical physics and physical chemistry

Dates

Issue 7 (July 2005)

Received 1 December 2004

Published 22 April 2005



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