Fabrication of glycopolymer/MWCNTs composite nanofibers and its enzyme immobilization applications

• A novel glycopolymer is prepared by water phase precipitation polymerization.
• The glycopolymer is made into composite nanofibers by electrospun with MWCNTs.
• The hydrophilicity of glycopolymer nanofibers is significantly improved.
• Immobilized catalase exhibits significantly higher thermal stability and durability.

Glycopolymer (poly(AN-co-OVSEG))/MWCNTs (multiwalled carbon nanotubes) composite nanofibers are fabricated using a facile approach combining enzymatic synthesis, radical polymerization and electrospinning. The structure of the glycopolymer was confirmed by FT-IR and 1H NMR. Poly(AN-co-OVSEG)/MWCNTs composite nanofibers were prepared using electrospinning and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The hydrophilic properties of the composite nanofibers surfaces were increased since the contact angle of poly(AN-co-OVSEG)/MWCNTs composite was reduced from 65.5° to 37° compared to (PAN). As an enzymatic model catalase (CAT) was loaded (ca. 55.0 mg/g) to the poly(AN-co-OVSEG)/MWCNTs nanofibers. The optimum temperature for poly(AN-co-OVSEG)/MWCNTs nanofibers increased from 25 °C to 45 °C compared to free CAT. The covalently immobilized enzymes conjugate exhibited 60% activity at 60 °C, while the free enzyme was entirely inactivity after 5 min heat treatment. The immobilized CAT retained 70% of its initial activity after 5 cycles of decomposition of hydrogen peroxide.

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