Antimicrobial Properties of Lysosomal Enzymes Immobilized on NH₂Functionalized Silica-Encapsulated Magnetite...

The immobilization efficiency, antimicrobial activity and recovery of lysosomal enzymes on NH2 functionalized magnetite nanoparticles have been studied under various conditions. The immobi- lization efficiency depends upon the ratio of the amount of enzyme and magnetite and it shows an increase with magnetite concentration which is due to the presence of amine group at the magnetite surface that leads to a strong attraction. The optimized reaction time to immobilize the lysosomal enzymes on magnetite was determined by using a rolling method. The immobilization efficiency increases with reaction time and reached a plateau after 5 minutes and then remained constant for 10 minutes. However, after 30 minutes the immobilization efficiency decreased to 85%, which is due to the weaker electrostatic interactions between magnetite and detached lysosomal enzymes. The recovery and stability of immobilized lysosomal enzymes has also been studied. The antimicrobial activity was almost 100% but it decreased upon reuse and no activity was observed after its reuse for seven times. The storage stability of lysosomal enzymes as an antimicrobial agent was about 88%, which decreased to 53% after one day and all activity of immobilized lysosomal enzymes was maintained after five days. Thus, the lysosomal enzymes immobilized on magnetite nanoparticles could potentially be used as antimicrobial agents to remove bacteria.