(Hydroxypropyl)methyl Cellulose-Chitosan Film as a Matrix for Lipase Immobilization-Part ΙΙ: Structural Studies

Evdokia Vassiliadi; Marta Tsirigotis-Maniecka; Henry E Symons; Pierangelo Gobbo; Frédéric Nallet; Aristotelis Xenakis; Maria Zoumpanioti

doi:10.3390/gels8090595

(Hydroxypropyl)methyl Cellulose-Chitosan Film as a Matrix for Lipase Immobilization-Part ΙΙ: Structural Studies

Gels. 2022 Sep 17;8(9):595. doi: 10.3390/gels8090595.

Authors

Evdokia Vassiliadi^{1

2}, Marta Tsirigotis-Maniecka³, Henry E Symons⁴, Pierangelo Gobbo⁵, Frédéric Nallet⁶, Aristotelis Xenakis¹, Maria Zoumpanioti¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF), 48 Vassileos Constantinou Ave., 11635 Athens, Greece.
² Department of Biological Applications and Technology, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece.
³ Faculty of Chemistry, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland.
⁴ School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK.
⁵ Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy.
⁶ Centre de Recherche Paul-Pascal, University Bordeaux, CNRS, UMR 5031, 115 Avenue du Docteur-Schweitzer, 33600 Pessac, France.

Abstract

The present work reports on the structural study of a film made of a hybrid blend of biopolymers used as an enzyme carrier. A cellulose derivative (HPMC) and chitosan (CS) were combined in order to formulate a film on which Mucor miehei lipase was immobilized. The film was successfully used as a biocatalyst; however, little is known about the structure of the system. Therefore, small-angle X-ray scattering, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), as well as microindentation measurements, were used to shed light on the structure of the promising biocatalyst. Among the results, intermolecular hydrogen bonds were observed between the amide groups of the two polymers and the lipase. The presence of the enzyme does not seem to affect the mechanical properties of the matrix. The used film after 35 cycles of reaction seemed to be fatigued and had lost part of its humidity, explaining the reduction of the enzyme activity.

Keywords: blended polymers; characterization; enzyme immobilization; film; hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose; lipase.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by a statutory subsidy from the Ministry of Higher Education for Wrocław University of Science and Technology. Mechanical characterization was carried out using equipment supported by an UKRI EPSRC New Investigator Award with grant reference EP/T01508X/1.