In this contribution, a hydrophobically modified polysaccharide derivative is synthesized in an eco-friendly solvent water by conjugation of benzylamine with the backbone of the biopolymer. Owing to the presence of aromatic moieties, the resulting water-soluble polysaccharide derivative self-assembles spontaneously and selectively from solution on the surface of nanometric thin films and sheets of polystyrene (PS). The synthetic polymer modified in this way bears a biocompatible nanolayer suitable for the immobilization of horseradish peroxidase (HRP), a heme-containing metalloenzyme often employed in biocatalysis and biosensors. Besides the detailed characterization of the polysaccharide derivative, a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) are used to investigate the binding efficiency and interaction of HRP with the tailored polysaccharide interfaces. Subsequent enzyme activity tests reveal details of the interaction of HRP with the solid support. The novel polysaccharide derivative and its use as a material for the selective modification of PS lead to a beneficial, hydrophilic environment for HRP, resulting in high enzymatic activities and a stable immobilization of the enzyme for biocatalytic and analytic purposes.

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The Cox-Merz rule is an empirical relationship that is commonly used in science and industry to determine shear viscosity on the basis of an oscillatory rheometry test. However, it does not apply to all polymer melts. Rheological data are of major importance in the design and dimensioning of polymer-processing equipment. In this work, we investigated whether the Cox-Merz rule is suitable for determining the shear-rate-dependent viscosity of several commercially available high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe grades with various molecular masses. We compared the results of parallel-plate oscillatory shear rheometry using the Cox-Merz empirical relation with those of high-pressure capillary and extrusion rheometry. To assess the validity of these techniques, we used the shear viscosities obtained by these methods to numerically simulate the pressure drop of a pipe head and compared the results to experimental measurements. We found that, for the HDPE grades tested, the viscosity data based on capillary pressure flow of the high molecular weight HDPE describes the pressure drop inside the pipe head significantly better than do data based on parallel-plate rheometry applying the Cox-Merz rule. For the lower molecular weight HDPE, both measurement techniques are in good accordance. Hence, we conclude that, while the Cox-Merz relationship is applicable to lower-molecular HDPE grades, it does not apply to certain HDPE grades with high molecular weight.