Lactase conjugated to nanomaterials represents an area of significant potential to the food industry as a means to produce health-promoting ingredients, reduce waste, and enable diagnostics.  The purpose of this work is to investigate the influence of particle size on activity retention of lactase covalently conjugated to magnetic nanoparticles of 18 nm, 50 nm, and 200 nm in diameter using carbodiimide chemistry.  Specific activity, kinetics, zeta potential, and particle size were evaluated for the conjugates.  After attachment, activity retention was 70%, 39%, and 14% compared to the free enzyme for the 18 nm, 50 nm, and 200 nm conjugates, respectively.  Results suggest increased activity retention with decreasing particle size can be attributed to surface interactions between the enzyme and support.  This work provides improved understanding of the relationship between enzymes and material surfaces, and allows for enhanced systematic design of enzyme-conjugated materials for use in food and agricultural applications.

Characterization of lactase conjugated to magnetic nanoparticles

244th National Meeting (2012)

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