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Surfactant‐Free β‐Galactosidase Micromotors for “On‐The‐Move” Lactose Hydrolysis
Author(s) -
MariaHormigos Roberto,
JuradoSánchez Beatriz,
Escarpa Alberto
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201704256
Subject(s) - hydrolysis , lactose , materials science , pulmonary surfactant , biocatalysis , immobilized enzyme , chemical engineering , reusability , nanotechnology , enzyme , catalysis , chemistry , organic chemistry , ionic liquid , computer science , programming language , software , engineering
Surfactant‐free β‐galactosidase micromotors are explored here as moving biocatalyst for highly efficient lactose hydrolysis from raw milk. The coupling of the hydrolytic properties of such enzyme with the efficient movement of carbon nanotube tubular micromotors results in nearly 100% lactose hydrolysis and two fold removal efficiency as compared with static conditions and with free enzyme. The incorporation of an inner Ni layer allows its reusability to operate in batch mode. The rough micromotor surface area allows the immobilization of a high loading of β‐galactosidase and results in an increase in the enzyme affinity toward lactose. The new micromotor concept opens new avenues for the use of micromotors as moving immobilized biocatalyst to improve the technological process not only in food industry but also in other fields.