Bionano Enzyme Conjugates for Efficient Bacterial Decontamination of Surfaces

Outbreak of severe infections due to unsuccessful decontamination of surfaces could affect both civilians and infrastructures thus leading to unfavorable socio-economic impacts.  The development of the next generation of decontaminants needs to account for reduction of the logistical burdens associated with infection prevention when harsh chemical reagents are employed and should aim to use green-based technologies with minimum impact on the user and the environment.   

 In this work, we seek to create environmentally-friendly, self-sufficient, self-cleaning, enzymatic decontamination platforms that encapsulate bio-nano catalytic conjugates to prevent infectious outbreaks.   Our technology uses two enzymes, namely glucose oxidase and chloroperoxidase, attached to a nanosupport to generate a potent decontaminant, hypochlorus acid (HOCl). The mechanisms of HOCl generation as well as the conditions that ensure enzyme immobilization, activity and maximum stability at the nanosupports, are investigated to determine the optimum circumstances that lead to maximum catalytic behavior at the nanointerfaces. The optimization is reported in terms of conjugates ability to efficiently decontaminate bacteria such as E. Coli.  Implementation of such a technique could lead to self-sustainable catalytic interfaces with advanced decontamination capability and large consumer applications.