Abstract
The goal of the protocols described herein is to synthesize bioinspired silica materials, perform enzyme encapsulation therein, and partially or totally purify the same by acid elution. By combining sodium silicate with a polyfunctional bioinspired additive, silica is rapidly formed at ambient conditions upon neutralization. The effect of neutralization rate and biomolecule addition point on silica yield are investigated, and biomolecule immobilization efficiency is reported for varying addition point. In contrast to other porous silica synthesis methods, it is shown that the mild conditions required for bioinspired silica synthesis are fully compatible with the encapsulation of delicate biomolecules. Additionally, mild conditions are used across all synthesis and modification steps, making bioinspired silica a promising target for the scale-up and commercialization as both a bare material and active support medium.The synthesis is shown to be highly sensitive to conditions, i.e., the neutralization rate and final synthesis pH, however tight control over these parameters is demonstrated through the use of auto titration methods, leading to high reproducibility in reaction progression pathway and yield. Therefore, bioinspired silica is an excellent active material support choice, showing versatility towards many current applications, not limited to those demonstrated here, and potency in future applications.
Highlights
The use of silica as a structural support for industrial catalysts is well established, allowing for the improved catalyst activity, stability and processability,[1] potentially reducing the operating cost
We present a method for rapidly precipitating bioinspired silica materials and encapsulation of biomolecules therein
We show the effect of acid addition amount on both reaction progression and yield (Figure 4 and Figure 5, respectively), and demonstrated a method for tight control over synthesis conditions, allowing for consistency despite this sensitivity
Summary
The use of silica as a structural support for industrial catalysts is well established, allowing for the improved catalyst activity, stability and processability,[1] potentially reducing the operating cost. The use of acid elution rather than calcination opens the possibility of organic surface functionalization This method is highly applicable to those working in active species immobilization who have found physisorption or covalent immobilization to be ineffective. It is useful for those researching process scale-up as the bioinspired synthesis is uniquely positioned for industrialisation compared to conventional templated silica materials.[13,14] This method is not recommended for applications which require an ordered array of pores within the material e.g.,for photonics, as the material structure is disordered despite any similarity in bulk properties.
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