Microfluidic fabrication of
tunable alginate-based microfibers for the stable immobilization of
enzymes
Wen Zhang, Wenbo Ye, Yajun Wang, Yunfeng Yan*
College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of
Technology, Hangzhou 310034, China.
* Corresponding author: Yunfeng Yan Email: yfyan@zjut.edu.cn
Data availability statement: Data openly available in a public
repository that issues datasets with DOIs
Abstract
Immobilized enzymes have drawn widespread attention due to
the enhanced stability, easy
separation from reaction mixture, and the prominent recyclability.
Nevertheless, it is still an ongoing challenge to develop potent
immobilization techniques which are capable of stable enzyme
encapsulation, minimal loss of activity, and modulability for various
enzymes and applications. Here, microfibers with tunable size and
composition were fabricated using a home-made microfluidic device. These
microfibers were able to efficiently encapsulate bovine serum albumin
(BSA), glucose oxidase (GOX) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP). But the
physically adsorbed enzymes readily diffused from microfibers into the
catalytic reaction system. The leakage of enzymes could be substantially
inhibited by conjugating to polyacrylic acid (PAA) and incorporating
into the alginate-based microfibers, enabling stable immobilization,
improved recyclability, and enhanced thermostability. In addition, GOX
and HRP-loaded microfibers were fabricated under the optimized
conditions for the visual detection of glucose using the cascade
reaction of these enzymes, showing sensitive color change to glucose
with concentration range of 0-2 mM. Due to the tunability and
versatility, this microfluidic-based microfiber platform may
provide a valuable approach to the
enzyme immobilization for the cascade catalysis and diagnoses with
multiple clinical markers.