Enhanced stability of immobilized xylanase with nano‑zinc oxide/ethyl cellulose composite carrier for efficient xylan...

APTES-functionalized ZnO nanoparticles with abundant surface polar groups were prepared via APTES modification. The nanoparticles were blended with ethyl cellulose (EC) solution and fabricated into composite fibers by electrospinning, followed by crosslinking with 2% glutaraldehyde to construct the APTES-ZnO/EC-CL immobilization carrier. Compared with the EC, the composite carrier achieved a higher specific surface area of 0.629 m²/g, improved hydrophilicity with a water contact angle of 113.0°, and enhanced thermal stability with merely 3% weight loss below 300 °C. With the porous structure, sufficient active sites, favorable biocompatibility, and enriched polar groups, the carrier was used for covalent immobilization of xylanase. The immobilized enzyme presented elevated catalytic efficiency, an increased V_max value, over 76% residual activity after ten batches, as well as prominent thermal and pH stability. It offers a feasible route to synthesize high-performance carriers and provides novel perspectives for biomass-based material utilization and high-stability biocatalyst development in industrial biotransformation.