Synthesis of temperature/light dual-responsive polymeric carrier and its application for pectinase immobilization

A temperature/light dual-stimuli-responsive polymeric carrier PPEGMA-b-PNIPAM-hv-PMAA-b-PS was designed and synthesized through host-guest mutual recognition, and further applied for pectinase immobilization. Both the host molecule PPEGMA-b-PNIPAM-β-CD and the guest molecule PS-b-PMAA-Azo were prepared via ATRP, hydrolysis, and click chemistry, respectively. The characterization of polymeric structure and morphology was carried out by 1H NMR, FTIR, and GPC. This polymer could self-assemble into spherical micelles in aqueous media, the critical micelle concentration (CMC) and the micellar morphology were also examined by UV–Vis, TEM, DLS, fluorescence spectra, etc. The enzyme immobilization property of the enzyme carrier was investigated too. It was revealed when pH was 4.0, immobilization concentration was 8 U/mL, temperature was 25 °C, and immobilization time was 60 min, both the immobilized amount and the relative activity could reach the maximum. By comparison with free pectinase, immobilized pectinase had a better tolerance to the variation of temperature and pH, and enhanced storage stability and reusability. Moreover, the relative activity of immobilized pectinase could be easily regulated by adjusting the temperature or UV irradiation. So, we can predict this immobilization material has a great application potential in industrial catalysis.