The encapsulation of proteins in biomimetic silica has recently been shown to successfully maintain enzymes in their active state. Organophosphate (OP) compounds are employed as pesticides as well as potent chemical warfare nerve agents. Because these toxicants are life threatening, we sought to generate biomimetic silicas capable of responding to OPs. Here, we present the silica encapsulation of human drug metabolism enzyme carboxylesterase 1 (hCE1) in the presence of a range of catalysts. hCE1 was successfully encapsulated into silica particles when lysozyme or the peptide R5 were used as catalysts; in contrast, polyethyleneimine (PEI), a catalyst employed to encapuslate other enzymes, did not facilitate hCE1 entrapment. hCE1 silica particles in a column chromatography format respond to the presence of the organophosphate (OP) pesticides paraoxon and dimethyl-p-nitrophenyl phosphate in solution. These results may lead to novel approaches to detect OP pesticides or other weaponized agents that bind hCE1
