PolyZymes Lab
PolyZymes Lab
Combining functional polymers with enzymes for advanced applications
Main research topics
Design and fabrication of PPCs to increase the stability of proteins
Design and fabrications of catalytically active hybrid materials
Development of integrated chemoenzymatic nanoreactors for tandem catalytic reactions
Protein-Polymer conjugates (PPCs)
We use different approaches to the synthesis of protein-polymer hybrids in order to enhance the stability of enzymes under harsh conditions (extreme pH and temperatures) or the presence of organic solvents. Only after stabilization, they can be used for advanced applications in an efficient way. Lately, we have been developing methodologies to encapsulate individual enzymes inside polymeric cores, giving rise to stable and robust single enzyme nanogels (SENs) (Beloqui et al. Small 2016; Beloqui et al., Chem. Sci. 2018). The introduction of functional or responsive polymers in this system leads to the fabrication of catalytic SMart Enzyme Nanogels (SMENs) that can be used as heterogeneous catalysts (Rodriguez-Abetxuko et al. ACS Omega 2019; Rodriguez-Abetxuko et al., Adv. Mat. Int. 2019) or as scaffolds for chemo-enzymatic platforms (Rodriguez-Abetxuko, submitted).
On the other hand, we develop new bio-orthogonal approaches to link proteins and polymers either in-situ or using as-synthesized polymers (Beloqui et al. submitted)
Funded by:
AEI (+Fondo Social Europeo): MAT2017-88808-R and RYC2018-025923-I; Ikerbasque Foundation
Organic-inorganic hybrid catalytic biomaterials
Funded by:
Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa, Gobierno Vasco - Ikerbasque Foundation, AEI (+Fondo Social Europeo): MAT2017-88808-R and RYC2018-025923-I
SMENs (SMart Enzyme Nanogels) can be used for the fabrication of organic-inorganic catalytic hybrids. The polymeric shell is decorated with different functional groups, tailoring therefore à-la-carte features to the enzymatic nanogels. As example, the introduction of imidazole groups to the polymeric network leads to nanogels that are efficiently assembled triggered by metal cations through metal-imidazole coordination. This new property has been used to fabricate organic-inorganic micro- and nanoparticles, as well as thin films (Rodriguez-Abetxuko et al., 2018 Adv. Mat. Int.; Rodriguez-Abetxuko et al., 2019 ACS Omega; Rodriguez-Abetxuko et al., 2019 Adv. Mat. Int)
Hybrid nanoreactors for artificial metabolic channeling
The use of SMENs (SMart Enzyme Nanogels) is further explored for the fabrication of advanced chemoenzymatic nanoreactors. The polymeric network, besides providing stability to the enzyme, is used as support for a chemical catalyst or for the seed of nanoparticles. With this design, the biocatalyst and the organic catalyst are confined in close compartments (nm distance) and, at the same time, poisoning and inactivation issues are diminished. Moreover, diffusion issues of reaction intemediates are significantly reduced
Funded by:
AEI (+Fondo Social Europeo): RYC2018-025923-I; PID2019-110239RB-I00; Ikerbasque Foundation