Cellulose fiber-enzyme composites fabricated through layer-by-layer nanoassembly.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biotechnology
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Cellulose microfibers are versatile biomaterials.
• Enzymes like laccase and urease have valuable catalytic properties.
• Developing methods to immobilize enzymes onto materials is crucial for applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a method for coating cellulose microfibers with laccase and urease using layer-by-layer assembly.
• To characterize the resulting enzyme-fiber composites.
• To assess the retained enzymatic activity and potential applications.

Main Methods:

• Layer-by-layer assembly of polycations and enzymes onto cellulose microfibers.
• Quartz crystal microbalance, zeta-potential analysis, and confocal laser scanning microscopy for film characterization.
• Enzyme activity assays and storage stability tests.

Main Results:

• Organized polyelectrolyte and enzyme multilayer films (15-20 nm) were successfully formed.
• Enzymatic catalytic activity was retained and proportional to the number of enzyme layers.
• Laccase-fiber composites retained ~50% activity after 2 weeks at 4°C.
• Urease functionality was confirmed by calcium carbonate microparticle synthesis.

Conclusions:

• Layer-by-layer assembly is an effective strategy for creating enzyme-functionalized cellulose microfibers.
• These biocomposites exhibit retained enzymatic activity and stability.
• The developed method offers a pathway for fabricating fiber-based composites with novel biological functions.