Acetylcholinesterase immobilized onto PEI-coated silica nanoparticles

Polyethyleneimine (PEI) coated-silica nanoparticles were prepared by the Stöber method. The formation and the structure of the nanoparticles were characterized by ATR-FT-IR spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TEM images of the silica and PEI-coated nanoparticles revealed that they were well dispersed and that there was no agglomeration. The acetylcholineesterase enzyme was immobilized onto these nanoparticles. The effects of pH and temperature on the storage stability of the free and immobilized enzyme were investigated. The optimum pHs for free and immobilized enzymes were determined as 7.0 and 8.0, respectively. The optimum temperatures for free and immobilized enzymes were found to be 30.0 and 35.0°C, respectively. The maximum reaction rate (Vmax) and the Michaelis-Menten constant (Km) were investigated for the free and immobilized enzyme. The storage stability of acetylcholinesterase was increased when immobilized onto the novel PEI-coated silica nanoparticles. The reuse numbers of immobilized enzyme were also studied. These hybrid nanoparticles are desirable as carriers for biomedical applications.