Antifouling activity of enzyme‐functionalized silica nanobeads. Issue 3 (28th September 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zanoni, Michele; Habimana, Olivier; Amadio, Jessica; Casey, Eoin
• Is Part Of: Biotechnology and bioengineering. Volume 113:Issue 3(2016)
• Page Start: 501
• Page End: 512
• Publication Date: 2015-09-28
• Subjects: biofilm -- enzyme -- nanoparticles -- antifouling; Biotechnology -- Periodicals; Bioengineering -- Periodicals; 660.6
• DOI: 10.1002/bit.25835
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0006-3592

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The amelioration of biofouling in industrial processing equipment is critical for performance and reliability. While conventional biocides are effective in biofouling control, they are potentially hazardous to the environment and in some cases corrosive to materials. Enzymatic approaches have been shown to be effective and can overcome the disadvantages of traditional biocides, however they are typically uneconomic for routine biofouling control. The aim of this study was to design a robust and reusable enzyme‐functionalized nano‐bead system having biofilm dispersion properties. This work describes the biochemical covalent functionalization of silica‐based nanobeads (hereafter referred to as Si‐NanoB) with Proteinase K (PK). Results showed that PK‐functionalized Si‐NanoB are effective in dispersing both protein‐based model biofilms and structurally altering Pseudomonas fluorescens biofilms, with significant decreases in surface coverage and thickness of 30.1% and 38.85%, respectively, while increasing surface roughness by 19 % following 24 h treatments on bacterial biofilms. This study shows that enzyme‐functionalized nanobeads may potentially be an environmentally friendly and cost effective alternative to pure enzyme and chemical treatments. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 501–512. © 2015 The Authors. Biotechnology and Bioengineering Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Abstract : The anti‐biofilm property of novel Protease K functionalized Silica nanobeads is reported. The mechanical erosion performed by the beads is maximized by the biochemical digestion of the biofilm exo‐polymeric components. The nanobeads can be quantitatively recovered after each treatment and successfully reused in new biofilm dispersal processes.