1 research outputs found
Chaperonin-Inspired pH Protection by Mesoporous Silica SBA-15 on Myoglobin and Lysozyme
While
enzymes are valuable tools in many fields of biotechnology,
they are fragile and must be protected against denaturing conditions
such as unfavorable solution pH. Within living organisms, chaperonins
help enzymes fold into their native shape and protect them from damage.
Inspired by this natural solution, mesoporous silica SBA-15 with different
pore diameters is synthesized as a support material for immobilizing
and protecting enzymes. In separate experiments, the model enzymes
myoglobin and lysozyme are physically adsorbed to SBA-15 and exposed
to a range of buffered pH conditions. The immobilized enzymes’
biocatalytic activities are quantified and compared to the activities
of nonimmobilized enzymes in the same solution conditions. It has
been observed that myoglobin immobilized on SBA-15 is protected from
acidic denaturation from pH 3.6 to 5.1, exhibiting relative activity
of up to 350%. Immobilized lysozyme is protected from unfavorable
conditions from pH 6.6 to 7.6, with relative activity of up to 200%.
These results indicate that the protective effects conferred to enzymes
immobilized by physical adsorption to SBA-15 are driven by the enzymes’
electrostatic attraction to the material’s surface. The pore
diameter of SBA-15 affects the quality of protection given to immobilized
enzymes, but the contribution of this effect at different pH values
remains unclear