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Preparation of Functional Silica Using a Bioinspired Method
Published on: August 1, 2018
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Facile Cellulase Immobilisation on Bioinspired Silica
Vincenzo Lombardi1, Matteo Trande2, Michele Back1
1Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172 Mestre, Italy.
Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland)
|February 26, 2022
Summary
Immobilizing cellulase enzymes using bio-inspired silica (BIS) supports enhances their reusability and stability for biofuel production. Entrapment in BIS preserves 90% of enzyme activity, offering a promising strategy for sustainable energy applications.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Enzyme Engineering
- Sustainable Energy
Background:
- Cellulases are crucial enzymes for biomass conversion into biofuels, but their high cost and low reusability hinder commercial application.
- Developing efficient enzyme immobilization techniques is key to improving enzyme performance and enabling sustainable biofuel production.
Purpose of the Study:
- To immobilize cellulase from *Aspergillus niger* onto bio-inspired silica (BIS) supports using in situ entrapment and adsorption methods.
- To evaluate the efficiency, reusability, and stability of the immobilized cellulase systems.
- To explore a novel, green strategy for enzyme immobilization in BIS supports.
Main Methods:
- Cellulase immobilization onto BIS supports via one-pot in situ entrapment and post-formation adsorption.
- Bradford assay and FTIR for assessing loading efficiency; Bovine serum albumin (BSA) used for optimization.
- Dinitro salicylic acid (DNS) method for analyzing residual enzyme activity and stability.
Main Results:
- In situ entrapment yielded immobilized cellulase with 90% residual activity, significantly higher than the ~55% activity observed for adsorption.
- Both immobilization methods enhanced enzyme stability and activity.
- The immobilized enzyme systems demonstrated good reusability over five cycles.
Conclusions:
- In situ entrapment in BIS supports is an effective and green strategy for immobilizing cellulase.
- This method preserves enzyme stability and enhances reusability, making it a promising approach for industrial biofuel production.
- The developed technique offers a cost-effective solution for sustainable enzyme applications.
