Design and synthesis of thermosensitive block resin as carrier for immobilization of penicillin G acylase

Purpose Using a reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer reaction, a series of resins were prepared by using N, N-diethyl acrylamide (DEA), poly (ß-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) as hydrophilic blocks and poly (glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) as hydrophobic blocks (and as a target for immobilizing penicillin G acylase [PGA]) and the low critical solution temperature (LCST) of which could be adjusted by changing the segment length of blocks. Design/methodology/approach To make the catalytic conversion temperature of immobilized PGA fallen into the temperature range of the sol state of thermosensitive block resin, a type of thermosensitive block resin, i.e. PDEA-b-PHEMA-b-PGMA (DHGs) was synthesized to immobilize PGA, and the effect of segment order of block resin was investigated on the performance of PGA. Findings Carrier prepared with monomers molar ratio of n(DEA) : n(HEMA): n(GMA) = 100: 49: 36 presented loading capacity (L) and enzyme activity recovery ratio (Ar) of 110 mg/g and 90%, respectively, and a block resin with LCST value of 33 °C was essential for keeping higher Ar of PGA. Originality/value PGA has become an important biocatalyst in modern chemistry industry. However, disadvantages include difficulty in separation, poor repeatability and high cost, which limits the scope of PGA applications. The effective method is to immobilize the enzyme to the carrier, which could overcome the disadvantage of free enzyme.