Design and implementation of two-dimensional polymer adsorption models: evaluating the stability of Candida...

A two-dimensional model of a solid-supported enzyme catalyst bead is fabricated on a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) sensor to measure in situ interfacial stability and mechanical properties of Candida antarctica Lipase B (CAL B) under varied conditions relating to ring-opening polymerization. The model was fabricated using a dual photochemical approach, where poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) thin films were cross-linked by a photoactive benzophenone monolayer and blended cross-linking agent. This process produces two-dimensional, homogeneous, rigid PMMA layers, which mimic commercial acrylic resins in a QCM-D experiment. Adsorption of CAL B to PMMA in QCM-D under varied buffer ionic strengths produces a viscoelastic enzyme surface that becomes more rigid as ionic strength increases. The rigid CAL B/PMMA interface demonstrates up to 20% desorption of enzyme with increasing trace water content. Increased polycaprolactone (PCL) binding at the enzyme surface was also observed, indicating greater PCL affinity for a more hydrated enzyme surface. The enzyme layer destabilized with increasing temperature, yielding near complete reversible catalyst desorption in the model.