Synthesis and characterization of immobilized glucoamylase on mesocellular foams through spectroscopic techniques and catalytic activity of immobilized enzyme

Siliceous mesocellular foam (MCF) is versatile support material for enzyme immobilization. This material is attractive for its robust, well-defined pore structure with interconnected, ultra large pores that facilitate diffusion. Excellent activity and extremely low level of leaching (metal or enzyme) were attained with these robust supports. MCF was synthesized by hydrothermal procedure using tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), amphiphilic block co-polymers Pluronic P123 and Trimethyl benzene as auxilary chemical under acidic conditions. The amino groups have been grafted to as-synthesized mesoporous silica by 3-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane (3-APTS) and glutaraldehyde was then coupled with amino functionalized silica. The physicochemical properties of the prepared materials were characterized by Nitrogen adsorption – desorption, FTIR, XPS, CPMAS NMR techniques. Meso cellular foams having ultra large pore diameter of 241 Å. Results showed that glutaraldehyde bound silica showed highest stability for enzyme binding.