Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Cotton Chemistry and Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #242144
Title: Immobilization of lysozyme on cotton fabrics; synthesis, characterication, and activity

Author
item Edwards, Judson - Vince
item Prevost, Nicolette
item Condon, Brian
item Sethumadhavan, Kandan
item Ullah, Abul

Submitted to: American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists Review
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/10/2010
Publication Date: 5/15/2011
Citation: Edwards, J.V., Prevost, N.T., Condon, B.D., Sethumadhavan, K., Ullah, A.H. 2011. Immobilization of lysozyme on cotton fabrics; synthesis, characterication, and activity. American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists Review. 11(3):73-79.

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 bio-active molecules to cotton textiles as a model to explore the creation of new value-added cotton products with highly selective properties and environmentally acceptable finishes. The highly absorbent, non-toxic, and soft-hand properties of cotton make it an attractive option as a biocompatible textile surface for clothes and biomedical materials. Recent interest in the development of antimicrobials attached to cotton materials include modifications that function through fiber entrapment with slow release activity, and covalent modifications designed to inhibit bacterial growth directly on the fiber. In this paper we show how the antimicrobial enzyme lysozyme can be attached to three types of cotton fabrics and still retain its activity. The potential application of lysozyme attached to cotton could be realized in the form of hygienic wipes, and protective apparel and hospital curtains. This paper lays the ground work for further exploration of the broad spectrum antimicrobial activity of lysozyme attached to cotton.

Technical Abstract: The antimicrobial activity of lysozyme derives from the hydrolysis of the bacterial cell wall polysaccharide at the glycosidic bond that links N-acetyl-glucosamine and N-acetyl-muramic acid. Maintaining the activity of lysozyme while bound to a cellulose substrate is a goal toward developing enzyme-based antimicrobial materials. Here we outline the covalent attachment of lysozyme to three different types of glycine derivatized cotton materials as a model for its potential antimicrobial products. Lysozyme was immobilized on cotton printcloth, twill, and spunlaced nonwoven using three separate synthetic routes to enzyme immobilization. The attachment of lysozyme to cotton fibers was made through a glycine amino acid linker esterified to the cotton cellulose. The conjugation of lysozyme to cotton twill using a carbodiimide-mediated coupling reaction gave the highest incorporation of lysozyme and highest activity (8.9 micromoles/milligram cotton). A cotton spunlaced nonwoven gave slightly lower incorporation of lysozyme activity (7 micromoles/milligram cotton), and woven printcloth yielded less activity (2.2 micromoles/milligram cotton) utilizing the carobdiimide-mediated coupling approach. A carbonyldiimidazole-mediated coupling approach of lysozyme demonstrated significantly less incorporation compared with the carbodiimide-coupling, and comparable levels of lysozyme incorporation were found among the three fabrics with carbonydiimidazole coupling. The paper will discuss the resulting activities of the cotton fabrics and the relative advantages of the two immobilization chemistries used to link the lysozyme.