Control of biofilm formation using α-amylase/lysozyme enzyme immobilized on Polyethersulfone membrane surface

In various industries, the biofilm phenomenon on surface devices is the major issue which highlights the importance of producing surfaces with antimicrobial properties. Biofilm-associated biofouling of industrial surfaces, particularly membranes, remains a serious concern, and challenges investigators to develop practical solutions to reduce their impact. This study is an attempt to make an antibacterial membrane surface to overcome the problem. Polyethersulfone (PES) membrane surface was modified by a two-step method. First, membrane surface was functionalized by polydopamine/cyanuric chloride and then surface modification was done by using multi-enzymes immobilization. α-amylase and lysozyme were selected as antibacterial enzymes which provide antibacterial function against biofilm formed by Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis strains. The resulting modified surface was characterized by SEM, and. Decreasing the bacterial colonies of the modified membrane surface compared to the enzyme-free membrane in the SEM test, was slightly confirmed in the microtiter test. The results of microtiter assay indicated that α-amylase/lysozyme mixture treated membrane samples came with more than 87% removal of biofilms.