[Incapsulation of enzymes into polyelectrolyte nano- and microcapsules and the problem of the development of...

The incapsulation of proteins into polyelectrolyte microcapsules (PE-microcapsules) has been studied with the aim to develop microdiagnostica for the presence of low-molecular-weight compounds in native biological fluids. The problem was solved using two enzymes: lactate dehydrogenase and urease. Polyelectrolyte microcapsules were prepared using two polyanions: polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) and dextran sulfate (DS), and two polycations: polyallylamine (PAA) and polydiallylmethylammonium (PDADMA). CaCO3 microspherulites with the incapsulated enzyme served as a "core" in the formation of polyelectrolyte microcapsules. It was shown that the main problem in the preparation of a polyelectrolyte microdiagnosticum is the selection of an oppositely charged pair of polyelectrolytes optimal for the active functioning of the enzyme. It follows from the results obtained that the best polyelectrolyte pairs for the formation of the envelope of a PE-microcapsule are PAA/DS and PAA/PSS for lactate dehydrogenase and PSS/PDADMA for urease. Taking into account these data, we designed enzyme-containing microcapsules with different polyelectrolyte compositions and different numbers of layers and studied their properties.