Single enzyme nanoparticles in nanoporous silica: A hierarchical approach to enzyme stabilization and immobilization

Single enzyme nanoparticles of α-chymotrypsin (SEN-CT), in which each CT molecule is surrounded by a thin polymeric organic/inorganic network, stabilized the CT activity in a shaking condition as well as in a non-shaking condition. Since SEN-CT is soluble in a buffer solution and less than 10 nm in size, SEN-CT could be further immobilized in nanoporous silica with an average pore size of 29 nm. Free CT and SEN-CT were immobilized in nanoporous silica (NPS), and nanoporous silica that was first silanized with aminopropyltriethoxysilane (amino-NPS) to generate a positive surface charge. The SEN-CT adsorbed in amino-NPS was more stable than CT immobilized by either adsorption in NPS or covalent bonding to amino-NPS. In shaking conditions, nanoporous silica provided an additional stabilization by protecting SEN-CT from shear stresses. At 22 °C with harsh shaking, free, NPS-adsorbed and NPS-covalently attached CT showed half lives of 1, 62, and 80 h, respectively; whereas SEN-CT adsorbed in amino-NPS showed no activity loss within 12 days. The combination of SENs and nanoporous silica, which makes an active and stable immobilized enzyme system, represents a new structure for biocatalytic applications.