Single enzyme nanoparticles in nanoporous silica: A hierarchical approach to enzyme stabilization and immobilization

Jungbae Kim, Hongfei Jia, Chang won Lee, Seung wook Chung, Ja Hun Kwak, Yongsoon Shin, Alice Dohnalkova, Byung Gee Kim, Ping Wang, Jay W. Grate

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

51 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Single enzyme nanoparticles of α-chymotrypsin (SEN-CT), in which each CT molecule is surrounded by a thin polymeric organic/inorganic network, stabilized the CT activity in a shaking condition as well as in a non-shaking condition. Since SEN-CT is soluble in a buffer solution and less than 10 nm in size, SEN-CT could be further immobilized in nanoporous silica with an average pore size of 29 nm. Free CT and SEN-CT were immobilized in nanoporous silica (NPS), and nanoporous silica that was first silanized with aminopropyltriethoxysilane (amino-NPS) to generate a positive surface charge. The SEN-CT adsorbed in amino-NPS was more stable than CT immobilized by either adsorption in NPS or covalent bonding to amino-NPS. In shaking conditions, nanoporous silica provided an additional stabilization by protecting SEN-CT from shear stresses. At 22 °C with harsh shaking, free, NPS-adsorbed and NPS-covalently attached CT showed half lives of 1, 62, and 80 h, respectively; whereas SEN-CT adsorbed in amino-NPS showed no activity loss within 12 days. The combination of SENs and nanoporous silica, which makes an active and stable immobilized enzyme system, represents a new structure for biocatalytic applications.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)474-480
Number of pages7
JournalEnzyme and Microbial Technology
Volume39
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2006 Jul 3
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Enzyme immobilization
  • Enzyme stabilization
  • Mesocellular foams
  • Nanoporous silica
  • Single enzyme nanoparticles
  • α-Chymotrypsin

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Bioengineering
  • Biochemistry
  • Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

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