glutaraldehyde activated porous polycaprolactam surface is demonstrated by combining the immobilization

Penicillin and ampicillin are covalently attached to expanded polytetrafluoroethylene through a PEG-spacer to develop antimicrobial surface. 2-Methoxy-29,4 9-dichloro chalcone when mixed with marine paint and coated on polycarbonate, glass fiber reinforced plastic and polymethylmethacrylate prevents the formation of Vibrio natriegens biofilm. However, in the above cases, antimicrobial property is exhibited as long as the compound is present on the surface. Leaching out of the compound from the surface leads to loss of antimicrobial property and hence this strategy is not suitable for implants that need to stay in the body for longer periods of time. In addition, development of drug resistance by the biofilm forming microbes is another serious problem which strongly requires strategies that do not use antibiotics. Subtilisin, an enzyme, when immobilized on polycaprolactam exhibits antimicrobial activity against both Gram positive as well as negative microbes. Silver nanocomposites also exhibit such properties. Enzymes including oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, esterases, isomerases and lyases have been reported to exhibit antibacterial property. However, their mode of action and their effects in most of the cases have not been elucidated fully. Lipase, a hydrolytic enzyme, exhibits antimicrobial and antifouling properties, but its mechanism of action is not studied so far. Polycaprolactam is a polymer with six amide bonds which lie in the same direction, resembling natural polypeptide. It is a porous polymer and is used as a scaffold for biomedical applications. The significance of porous biomaterial for the construction of implants is stated in a work by Doi et al. Such a material helps in osseointegration by forming a direct interface between the implant and bone without the intervening soft tissues. Such implants are also more prone to the growth and proliferation of microbes. These implants, in addition to supporting a damaged biological structure, could be made antimicrobial by incorporating an antimicrobial agent and made biosorbable by using a biodegradable polymer, which would prevent the need for another surgery to remove the implant. Enzymes are immobilized on these porous surfaces and used as biologically functionalized surfaces in enzyme delivery, diagnostic assays and bioreactors. Langmuir Blodgett Deposition is a useful technique to design thin solid films at the molecular level. When films are deposited on a porous surface, the monolayer will bridge the voids, supported by a layer of water. When the water drains or dries, the film collapses. So, coating of molecules is improper and non uniform on porous surfaces. Maintaining the activity of protein and enzyme in the Langmuir-Blodgett monolayer is one more disadvantage that has not been completely overcome. In the present study, Layer by Layer formation of highly active and stable biocatalytic film of cross linked lipase.

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