Adsorption of trypsin onto styrene-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate copolymer microspheres and its enzymatic activity

Abstract

Effects of the surface hydrophilicity of styrene-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (S-HEMA) copolymer microspheres on the adsorption immobilization of trypsin and on its enzymatic activity were discussed. In the case of a polystyrene (PS) microsphere, the amount of adsorption was large, whereas the enzymatic activity of the adsorbed trypsin was low. On the other hand, in the case of an S-HEMA copolymer microsphere whose HEMA content was 10 mole %, the maximum specific activity of trypsin adsorbed was nearly equal to that of free trypsin, although the amount of adsorption decreased to about 65 % of that in PS. Accordingly, total activity, which is the product of the amount of adsorption and the specific activity, could be enhanced by controlling the surface hydrophilicity of the microsphere.