Activation of polymeric materials towards enzymatic postgrafting and cross-linking

A methodology to activate inert polymeric materials to enzymatic functionalisation is described herein. Plasma irradiation can be used to graft compounds containing a moiety that is reactive towards an enzyme of interest. Subsequently, such enzyme can be used to either postgraft functional compounds or cross-link the polymeric materials. Argon plasma was utilised to graft 2-aminoethyl methacrylate onto cotton and wool fibres, introducing surface alkylamine groups to impart reactivity towards transglutaminase and tyrosinase. The efficiency of plasma grafting was verified by ATR-FTIR. Enzyme postgrafting of fluorescent peptides coupled with confocal microscopy was used to demonstrate transglutaminase activity towards cotton, a material typically inert to this enzyme. The grafting of alkylamines onto wool resulted in additional cross-linking by both enzymes, leading to significantly increased yarn breaking load and elongation at break. This technology permits the activation of inert materials towards enzymatic postgrafting, with applications in fields as diverse as textiles and biomaterials.

► We developed a combined plasma and enzyme technology to modify polymeric materials.
► In a first step, a compound containing a moiety that is reactive towards an enzyme of interest was grafted using plasma.
► In a second step such enzyme was used to postgraft functional compounds or cross-link polymeric materials.
► AEMA grafting activated cotton fibres towards transglutaminase, as shown by postgrafting of a fluorescent peptide.
► AEMA grafting onto wool enhanced mTGase and TYR cross-linking, leading to improved mechanical properties.