Sarah Lentz¹, Claudia Marschelke², Alla Synytska¹, *

¹AG Functional Polymer Interfaces Group, Bavarian Institute of Polymers – BPI, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, D-95447 Bayreuth, Germany

*E-Mail: alla.synytska@uni-bayreuth.de

² Institut Physikalische Chemie und Physik der Polymere, Leibniz Institut für Polymerforschung,  Hohe Straße 6, D-01069 Dresden

In various industry sectors, the use of enzymatic biocatalysts offers significant advantages over conventional chemical processes since they comprise better specificity, regio- and stereoselectivity, biodegradability, and mild reaction conditions.[1-3] In this regard, switchable core-shell Janus particles are a promising tailored approach for the immobilization of enzymes, thus enabling their reusability, reducing operating costs and realizing more ecological process control. [1, 4] Inspired by Roman mythology, so-called Janus particles (JPs) with two differently modified, often incompatible hemispheres will be used as a core-shell support system.

Our group aims to develop a core-shell support system that allows effective enzyme immobilization, utilization and recovery. The targeted design of the polymer brush interfaces concerning topology and architecture is critical and enables the tuning of macroscopic interface properties such as adhesion and adsorption of applied enzymes. The relationship between the molecular design of model polymer brushes, their macroscopic properties, and the applicability of particle-based systems (fully coated-, copolymer modified-, and bifunctional Janus particles) are discussed.  

1.    Marschelke, C., A. Fery, and A. Synytska, Janus particles: from concepts to environmentally friendly materials and sustainable applications. Colloid and Polymer Science, 2020. 298(7): p. 841-865.

2.    Hills, K.D., et al., Actuation of chitosan-aptamer nanobrush borders for pathogen sensing. Analyst, 2018. 143(7): p. 1650-1661.

3.    Huang, X., et al., Nanospherical Brush as Catalase Container for Enhancing the Detection Sensitivity of Competitive Plasmonic ELISA. Anal Chem, 2016. 88(3): p. 1951-8.

4.    Marschelke, C., et al., Hairy Particles with Immobilized Enzymes: Impact of Particle Topology on the Catalytic Activity. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2019. 11(1): p. 1645-1654.