Desenvolvimento de suportes enzimáticos por polimerização simultânea em suspensão e emulsão

Abstract

The present work focused on the synthesis of polymer supports through simultaneous suspension-emulsion polymerizations, aiming at producing enzymatic biocatalysts. Initially, different reaction strategies were adopted in order to increase the specific area and porosity of the produced particles. Thus, it was observed that, by reducing the duration of the suspension step, core-shell particles of P(S-co-DVB) exhibiting high specific area (up to 50 m²/g) could be produced. The mechanical stability of the produced particles was also analyzed and it was noticed that the use of DVB as comonomer resulted in the increase of the mechanical resistance of the polymeric materials. In the following step, such particles were employed as supports for immobilization of the commercial lipase B of Candida antarctica (CAL-B) for synthesis of biocatalysts. The hydrolytic and esterification activities of the biocatalysts, as well as the immobilization parameters, were evaluated. Then, biocatalysts exhibiting high esterification activity were produced (approximately 3500 U/g). The scale-up of the polymerization process was also carried out and core-shell particles with different compositions, capable of interacting through different manners with the studied enzyme, were synthesized. Finally, the functionalization step of the nanoparticles that cover the polymeric cores were conducted. Thus, the present work enabled the development of different polymeric supports with potential use for the immobilization of different enzymes and with promising applications in distinct industrial sectors.