Poly(ethylene glycol)-serum albumin hydrogel as matrix for enzyme immobilization: biomedical applications

Poly(ethylene glycol)-albumin hydrogels were implanted in mice in subcutaneous position to study their biocompatibility. After one month of implantation, the fibrous capsule formed around the implant was thin and the inflammatory tissue was limited. Acid phosphatase (AP) was selected to evaluate the hydrogel as matrix for enzyme immobilization. AP-hydrogels were prepared using activated PEG (PEGa) of different molecular weights (M.W. 4,600 to 20,000) to evaluate the effect of the matrix composition on the activity of AP. The apparent Km of the immobilized AP was 16 to 20 times higher than the Km of the soluble enzyme. The apparent Km value decreases with the increase of the chain length of the PEGa used. This can be correlated to an increase in the hydrogel porosity. The operational stability of the AP was markedly improved after immobilization by 110 to 160 times according to the PEGa molecular weight involved. Also, asparaginase (ASNase) was immobilized in PEGa (M.W. 10,000)-albumin-hydrogel as a model for in vivo bioreactor. ASNase hydrogels were implanted in the peritoneal cavity of rats; 7 days later, 75% of the initial enzyme activity were retrieved.