Target-Specific Covalent Immobilization of Enzymes from Cell Lysate on SiO2 Nanoparticles for Biomass Saccharification

Herein, we presented a novel strategy for the preparation of peptide/SiO2 nanoparticles enabling enzyme covalent immobilization by combining elastin-like peptide (ELP)-based biomimetic silicification for SiO2 synthesis with the SpyCatcher/SpyTag system for spontaneous covalent bond formation. Using this method, the nanocarriers (SpyCatcher-ELP@SiO2) can be prepared in a one-step process within minutes under mild conditions without additional surface modification. These nanocarriers could directly immobilize the SpyTag-fused target enzymes from the crude cell lysate without prepurification. With the nanocarriers, two enzymes (xylanase and lichenase) used in biomass conversion were successfully immobilized with high activity recovery (>90%) and good reusability (>80%).