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Published on: August 14, 2019
Enzyme-Polymer Conjugates as Robust Pickering Interfacial Biocatalysts for Efficient Biotransformations and One-Pot
Zhiyong Sun1, Ulrich Glebe2, Himanshu Charan2,3
1Institute of Microbiology, Technische Universität Dresden, Zellescher Weg 20b, 01217, Dresden, Germany.
Abstract:
Despite the rapid development of Pickering interfacial catalysis (PIC) at liquid-liquid interfaces with chemocatalysts, the use of unstable biocatalysts at emulsion interfaces remains a technical challenge. Herein, we present a Pickering interfacial biocatalysis (PIB) platform based on robust and recyclable enzyme-polymer conjugates that act as both catalytic sites and stabilizers at the interface of Pickering emulsions. The conjugates were prepared by growing poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) on a fragile enzyme, benzaldehyde lyase, under physiological conditions. The mild in situ conjugation process preserved the enzyme structure, and the conjugates were used to emulsify a water-organic two-phase system into a stable Pickering emulsion, leading to a significantly larger interfacial area and a 270-fold improvement in catalytic performance as compared to the unemulsified two-phase system. The PIB system could be reused multiple times. Conjugates of other enzymes were also fabricated and applied for cascade reactions.
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