Superparamagnetic aminopropyl-functionalized silica core-shell microspheres as magnetically separable carriers for immobilization of penicillin G acylase

The superparamagnetic Fe3O4 microspheres about 300 nm diameter were prepared by the solvothermal method. After treated with chlorohydric acid, it was coated with aminopropyl-functionalized amorphous silica by the condensation of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) through Stöber modified method. FT-IR, elemental analysis and TEM were used to characterize the aminopropyl-functionalized silica-coated magnetic microspheres, and then they were first used as magnetic separation carriers for immobilization of penicillin G acylase (PGA). The results showed that the amino content of the carriers has a little influence on the apparent initial activity, while the immobilization method and the shell thickness have more obvious influence on the apparent initial activity. The immobilized PGA (IMPGA) obtained through covalent attachment almost has no leaching and can retain above 78% of activity after 10 consecutive operations and exhibits higher resistance to thermal stability. More interesting, the silica-coated magnetic microspheres show high saturation magnetization and the obtained IMPGA can be separated quickly using an external magnetic field.