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Polymer grafting from a metallo‐centered enzyme improves activity in non‐native environments
Author(s) -
Kovaliov Marina,
Zhang Borui,
Konkolewicz Dominik,
Szcześniak Katarzyna,
Jurga Stefa,
Averick Saadyah
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
polymer international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.592
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1097-0126
pISSN - 0959-8103
DOI - 10.1002/pi.6127
Subject(s) - laccase , grafting , polymer , polymerization , chemistry , polymer chemistry , methacrylate , enzyme , combinatorial chemistry , organic chemistry , materials science
Metallo‐centered enzymes have found applications in environmental remediation, green synthesis and sensors. These enzymes destabilize at extreme pH, elevated temperature or high‐organic‐content conditions. For these enzymes to find more widespread adoption and use, stabilization in non‐native conditions is critical. We report the impact of grafting polymers from the surface of laccase, a metalloenzyme with a Cu active site, modified with a polymerization‐initiating species ligated to the protein's lysine residues. Initiators for continuous activator regeneration atom transfer radical polymerization was used to graft a small library of polymers from the protein. The impact of polymer grafting on enzyme activity as a function of pH, temperature or organic solvent was determined. While polymer grafting from laccases was found to increase enzymatic activity, we found that grafting high‐molecular‐weight dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate displayed the greatest enhancement to catalytic activity. The results demonstrate that polymer grafting can improve laccase activity in native and non‐native conditions. © 2020 Society of Industrial Chemistry