초록
<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>In this study, all-natural composite microspheres were fabricated through adding shellac into chitin solution followed by self-assembly via thermally-induced phase separation. The pore structure of the composite microspheres was altered into wedge-shape from ink-bottle-shape of the chitin microspheres, whereas, the crystalline structure of these two kinds of microspheres remained unaltered. The as-fabricated chitin-shellac composite microspheres were used for enzyme immobilization through adsorption. And <I>yeast</I> alcohol dehydrogenase (YADH) was chosen as the model enzyme, which is a multimer consisting of 4 subunits. The loading capacity of the as-prepared composite microspheres was up to 79.0mg/g (enzyme/carrier). The immobilized enzyme exhibited a comparable catalytic activity compared to its free counterpart and maintained 49.3% of its initial activity after 54days’ storage at 4°C while the free enzyme lost all its activity.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> All-natural chitin-shellac composite microspheres were prepared for enzyme immobilization. </LI> <LI> One-pot fabrication achieved porous structure and surface modification simultaneously. </LI> <LI> Catalytic activity of the immobilized enzyme was comparable to that of free enzyme. </LI> <LI> The thermal-, pH-, storage-stability and reusability of enzyme all reinforced after immobilization. </LI> </UL> </P>