Enzyme Entrapment in Amphiphilic Myristyl-Phenylalanine Hydrogels

Abstract

Supramolecular amino acid and peptide hydrogels are functional materials with a wide range of applications, however, their ability to serve as matrices for enzyme entrapment have been rarely explored. Two amino acid conjugates were synthesized and explored for hydrogel formation. These hydrogels were characterized in terms of strength and morphology, and their ability to entrap enzymes while keeping them active and reusable was explored. It was found that the hydrogels were able to successfully entrap two common and significant enzymes—horseradish peroxidase and -amylase—thus keeping them active and stable, along with inducing recycling capabilities, which has potential to further advance the industrial biotransformation field.

A Novel pH- and Salt-Responsive N-Succinyl-Chitosan Hydrogel via a One-Step Hydrothermal Process

“…Hydrogels with good environmental response have attracted more and more attention in pharmaceuticals, medicine, tissue engineering, materials science, food, and agriculture [5,6,7,8,9,10]. In particular, pH- and salt-responsive hydrogels are mostly studied because both parameters are important environmental factors in physiological and chemical systems [11,12]. Hydrogels made from natural polymers, including chitin [13], gelatin [14], cellulose [15], and sodium alginate [16], have many unique advantages, such as good biocompatibility, biodegradability, and these natural polymers have abundant resources.…”

Short Peptide-Based Smart Thixotropic Hydrogels

“…Still, out of these prepared hydrogels, the gel at pH 7 showed the best thixotropic response with the excellent recovery of the moduli owing to its relatively lesser recovery time than other gels ( Figure 1 D, Table 1 ). The gel exhibited injectable properties, as shown in Figure 1 E. In the same year, Kraatz et al reported myristic acid (CH 3 (CH 2 ) 12 COOH)-capped L- and D-Phenylalanine (Phe) (AA3 and AA4, Figure 1 F), which are much more prone to form a hydrogel in a monobasic phosphate buffer at pH 7 [ 62 ]. Phe is a well-known aromatic hydrophobic amino acid that can readily undergo a self-assembly process within a network through hydrophobic and π-π interactions to form supramolecular gels [ 55 , 59 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 ].…”

Fabrication of Cellulase Catalysts Immobilized on a Nanoscale Hybrid Polyaniline/Cationic Hydrogel Support for the Highly Efficient Catalytic Conversion of Cellulose

“…However, the fairly weak interaction with the target molecule is one of their limitations . To overcome this drawback, many researchers have investigated the effect of surface-modifying functional groups. , …”

“…15 To overcome this drawback, many researchers have investigated the effect of surface-modifying functional groups. 8,16 The use of conducting polymers such as polyaniline (PANI) either as biomolecule carriers 17 or surface modifiers 12,18 is extensively investigated. PANI is a relatively low-cost polymer, can be easily synthesized, has good stability to extreme temperatures and pH, and is also resistant to microbial attack.…”