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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Cotton Chemistry and Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #203268
Title: New Uses for Immobilized Enzymes and Substrates on Cotton and Cellulose Fibers

Author
item Edwards, Judson - Vince
item Ullah, Abul
item Sethumadhavan, Kandan
item Batiste, Sarah
item Bel, Patricia
item von Hoven, Terri
item Goynes, Wilton
item Condon, Brian
item Pierre, Sonya

Submitted to: American Chemical Society Symposium Series
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/1/2006
Publication Date: 8/1/2007
Citation: Edwards, J.V., Ullah, A.H., Sethumadhavan, K., Batiste, S.L., Bel, P., Von Hoven, T.M., Goynes Jr, W.R., Condon, B.D., Pierre, S.C. 2007. New Uses for Immobilized Enzymes & Substrates on Cotton & Cellulose Fibers. American Chemical Society Symposium Series. 972:171-185.

Interpretive Summary: The creation of new markets for value-added, protective cotton textiles is currently an agriculture issue. Work in Southern Regional Research Center’s Cotton Textile Chemistry Unit is addressing the application of an enzyme to cotton textiles as a model to explore the creation of new value-added cotton products with highly selective properties and an environmentally acceptable finishes. Lysozyme is an antibacterial enzyme that kills bacteria by breaking down their cell wall. Methods have been developed to permanently attach lysozyme to cotton cellulose while still retaining the biological activity of the enzyme on the cotton fiber. The use of computer graphic technology demonstrates how the enzyme may retain its activity upon being attached to cotton. The long-term advantages of this work include creating more robust barriers to bacterial infection on cotton textile surfaces, and more widespread and selective functional applications of enzymes on cotton textiles. Among these applications are detoxifying enzymes on cotton textiles that would neutralize organophosphorous compounds. Both the cotton farmer and consumer would benefit from an expanded market of this type for value added cotton textiles.

Technical Abstract: The design, preparation, and application of both immobilized enzymes and enzyme substrates on cotton fibers for biomedical and specialty applications includes antibacterial fabrics, decontamination wipes, debridement and chronic wound dressing prototypes, and protease detection devices. The molecular design steps of enzyme and enzyme substrate cellulose conjugates is presented. Molecular models of lysozyme- and orgaonphosphorous hydrolase- cellulose conjugates are given as examples of assessing the utility of the biorationally designed fabrics. The chemistry of immobilzing the enzyme or enzyme substrate to the cotton fabric of choice employs use of crosslinking agents for either aqueous or organic coupling reactions. Assay’s for assessmet of the activity of the bioconjugate is pivotal to optimizing the development of the immobilized enzyme or substrate as a product.