One-step preparation of surface modified electrospun microfibers as suitable supports for protein immobilization

Abstract

We have here developed a straightforward one-step route to surface modified polystyrene (PS) based microfibers for protein/enzyme immobilization. Our approach consists of wet electrospinning of a poly(styrene-alt-maleic anhydride) (PSMA) polymer in an aqueous solution collector which contains the (macro)molecules to be coupled, here PEG diamine (PEGDA) or hexamethylene diamine (hexDA). The amino groups on the fiber surface were then exploited for immobilization of the horseradish peroxidase (HRP) enzyme. The immobilized HRP amounts were higher on the PEG- and hexyl-modified fibers than on the non-modified PSMA ones. The HRP catalytic activity was evaluated with 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) as a substrate. While the retained activity of the enzyme immobilized on unmodified PSMA microfibers was only 2.4% of free enzyme, that of the enzyme immobilized on the PEGylated fibers increased to 34%. As a comparison, HRP fixed on hexyl-functionalized fibers exhibited a retention activity of 19.7%, showing the impact of a PEG spacer on HRP activity. HRP immobilization on PEG and hexyl-coated fibers had also a beneficial impact on enzyme storage stability. This study highlights the impact of surface properties on the activity of the immobilized enzyme and provides a convenient route to simultaneous elaboration/modification of fibers, for suitable protein fixation.