Poly(ethylene glycol) conjugated enzyme with enhanced hydrophobic compatibility for self-cleaning coatings

Enzyme-based smart materials constitute a rapidly growing group of functional materials. Often the natively evolved enzymes are not compatible with hydrophobic synthetic materials, thus significantly limiting the performance of enzymes. This work investigates the use of a polyethylene glycol (PEG)-conjugated detergent enzyme for self-cleaning coatings. As a result, PEG conjugated α-amylase demonstrated a much more homogeneous distribution in polyurethane coatings than the parent native enzyme as detected by both fluorescent microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). Additionally, the conjugated enzyme showed enhanced retention in the coating and much improved thermal stability with a halflife of 20 days detected at 80 °C and over 350 days under room temperature. Such coating-incorporated enzyme afforded interesting self-cleaning functionality against starch-based stains as examined through a slipping drop test.