Tubular electrosynthesis of silica-coated magnetite and evaluation of magnetic nanobiocatalyst efficacy during biomass hydrolysis.

Magnetic nanobiocatalysts (MNBCs) are a promising immobilization approach to ease enzyme recovery during bioprocessing. However, industrial adoption of MNBCs is unfeasible because MNBC-synthesis involves complex and potentially expensive processing steps including synthesis of silica-coated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (Si-SPIONs). We developed a single-step process for Si-SPION synthesis using a tubular electrochemical system (TES) and investigated the effect of concentration of the Na2SiO3 coating agent on Si-SPION properties. The Si-SPIONs were used as a support for attachment of polymer-cellulase conjugate to make MNBCs. The spherical Si-SPIONs were 8-12 nm in diameter including a 2-nm silica coating. Na2SiO3 concentration in the reactor did not affect Si-SPION morphology, but increasing Na2SiO3 concentration reduced SPION productivity in the reactor. Protective properties of the SPION silica coatings were demonstrated by showing that they prevented dissolution of SPIONs in an acid solution for 48 h. Enzyme attachment was quantified as protein adsorption on Si-SPIONs which reached 55 μg/mg Si-SPION. The MNBCs were recovered and reused four times. The use of TES for Si-SPION synthesis is promising to reduce MNBC production complexity.