New method for studying the adsorption of enzymes into mesoporous particles with QCM‐D

Mesoporous silica particles have become a popular support material for enzymes used in biocatalytic applications. Most methodologies for studying the adsorption of enzymes into the pores rely on indirect protein concentration measurements outside the pores. In order to study the adsorption process live, we developed a method for attaching porous silica particles onto a QCM-D crystal. We could detect a clear difference in adsorbed mass (frequency decrease) in that 5 times more enzyme was adsorbed into the porous particles compared to the non-porous particles. The rate of adsorption was also fast, which infers no limitation for the diffusion into the pores. Additionally, the method proved useful for studying the stability of the adsorbed enzymes, were leakage from the pores was significantly slower than from the non-porous particles. Current work involves using the QCM-D to study how various surface modifications affect the adsorption efficiency and also the stability of the immobilized enzymes. The new knowledge is expected to be useful in the design of more efficient biocatalysts based on enzymes encapsulated in mesoporous silica