Novel protocol for design of the functional biocatalytic systems composed with laccase supported onto Al2O3-cellulose and Al2O3-chitosan modified electrospun materials

This article focuses on the combination of several approaches, including innovative synthesis of membrane additives, membrane preparation and modification via electrospinning and enzyme immobilization, in order to produce novel type of biocatalytic systems. For this reason, three types of electrospun poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) based membranes had been studied, including pure PMMA membrane and two of them doped with the Al₂O₃-cellulose and Al₂O₃-chitosan systems, respectively. The unmodified membrane was characterized by a small number of beads or droplets, which increased after modification with cellulose and chitosan based systems. The above-mentioned materials had been used as supports for immobilization of laccase from Trametes versicolor and formed systems had been furthermore used in enzymatic bioconversion of three dyes - CR, RB19 and MG, from their model aqueous solutions. Analysis of obtained data showed that immobilization yield exceeded 50 % for all proposed systems, followed by activity recovery up to 81.6 %. Further, membranes modified with Al₂O₃-cellulose and Al₂O₃-chitosan systems, were characterized by better efficiency in dyes removal reaching up to 88 %, 94 % and 51 % for CR, RB19 and MG, respectively. This study highlights the potential benefits of aforementioned biocatalytic systems in wastewater treatment technology, especially resulting in a high efficiency of dye-based pollutants removal.