Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 8, 2026
08:27
Aqueous Droplets Used as Enzymatic Microreactors and Their Electromagnetic Actuation
Published on: August 28, 2017
5.7K
Designing Microreactors Resembling Cellular Microenvironment via Polyamine-Mediated Nanoparticle-Assembly for Tuning
Gousia Begum1, Shikha Lalwani1, Rohit Kumar Rana1
1Nanomaterials Laboratory , CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology , Hyderabad 500 007 , India.
Bioconjugate Chemistry
|July 7, 2018
Summary
Researchers developed a green method to encapsulate glucose oxidase (GOx) in silica microreactors using poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH). This enzyme immobilization enhances GOx activity, stability, and specificity, offering a novel approach for microreactor design.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Engineering
- Enzyme Immobilization
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Enzyme immobilization is crucial for biocatalysis and biosensor development.
- Developing environmentally friendly and efficient enzyme encapsulation methods remains a challenge.
- Bioinspired silica formation offers a promising route for creating functional microstructures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate a green and efficient method for spatial confinement of glucose oxidase (GOx) within a bioinspired silica matrix.
- To investigate the impact of encapsulation on GOx activity, stability, and specificity.
- To explore the potential of polyamine-mediated silica nanoparticle assembly for creating enzyme microreactors.
Main Methods:
- Utilized poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) to direct silica nanoparticle assembly on CaCO3 spheres.
- Preloaded CaCO3 spheres with GOx, followed by silica shell formation and core removal.
- Characterized the encapsulated GOx for activity (Michaelis-Menten kinetics), thermal stability, and pH stability.
Main Results:
- Successfully encapsulated GOx within silica microspheres using a green, bioinspired approach.
- Encapsulated GOx exhibited a 2-3 fold lower Michaelis-Menten constant (KM) and enhanced specificity constant (kcat/KM).
- Demonstrated a 2-fold increase in thermal stability and improved pH stability for the encapsulated enzyme.
Conclusions:
- The polyamine-mediated silica encapsulation provides a robust and effective method for enzyme immobilization.
- The developed microreactors enhance enzyme performance, showing potential for biocatalysis and biosensing applications.
- This greener process facilitates the design of advanced enzyme-based microdevices with improved functionalities.
Related Concept Videos
00:23Kinetic Energy
43.5K
Kinetic energy is the ability of an object in motion to do work or enact change. It can take on many forms. For instance, water flowing down a waterfall has kinetic energy. In biological systems, particles of light travel and are absorbed by plants to create chemical energy. Animals consume the chemical energy and give off molecules that carry their scent through the air. They also generate kinetic energy when they run away from predators. Entire systems also possess kinetic energy, like the...
43.5K
01:19Enzyme Kinetics
104.2K
Enzymes speed up reactions by lowering the activation energy of the reactants. The speed at which the enzyme turns reactants into products is called the rate of reaction. Several factors impact the rate of reaction, including the number of available reactants. Enzyme kinetics is the study of how an enzyme changes the rate of a reaction.
Scientists typically study enzyme kinetics with a fixed amount of enzyme in the controlled environment of a test tube. When more reactant, or substrate, is...
Scientists typically study enzyme kinetics with a fixed amount of enzyme in the controlled environment of a test tube. When more reactant, or substrate, is...
104.2K
03:07Kinetic Molecular Theory: Molecular Velocities, Temperature, and Kinetic Energy
29.9K
The kinetic molecular theory qualitatively explains the behaviors described by the various gas laws. The postulates of this theory may be applied in a more quantitative fashion to derive these individual laws.
29.9K
01:02Glucose Homeostasis: Regulation of Blood Glucose
4.3K
Carbohydrates consumed through foods are converted into glucose, a crucial energy source for the body. In the prandial state, high blood glucose levels stimulate the secretion of insulin from the pancreas. Insulin inhibits hepatic glucose production and stimulates glucose uptake and metabolism by muscle and adipose tissue. The excess glucose is converted into glycogen and stored in the liver and muscles.
During fasting, when blood glucose levels are low, the pancreas secretes glucagon. it...
During fasting, when blood glucose levels are low, the pancreas secretes glucagon. it...
4.3K
02:17The Tumor Microenvironment
7.8K
Every normal cell or tissue is embedded in a complex local environment called stroma, consisting of different cell types, a basal membrane, and blood vessels. As normal cells mutate and develop into cancer cells, their local environment also changes to allow cancer progression. The tumor microenvironment (TME) consists of a complex cellular matrix of stromal cells and the developing tumor. The cross-talk between cancer cells and surrounding stromal cells is critical to disrupt normal tissue...
7.8K
01:04Problem-Solving: Tuning of a Guitar String
1.1K
In the case of stringed instruments like the guitar, the elastic property that determines the speed of the sound produced is its linear mass density or the mass per unit length. This is simply called the linear density. If the string's linear density is constant along the string, then the linear density is simply the total mass divided by the total length.
The string's wave speed can be regulated by varying the linear density. Tension is the other property that determines the speed of...
The string's wave speed can be regulated by varying the linear density. Tension is the other property that determines the speed of...
1.1K