Preparation of a novel polymer monolith with functional polymer brushes by two-step atom-transfer radical polymerization for trypsin immobilization

Novel porous polymer monoliths grafted with poly{oligo[(ethylene glycol) methacrylate]-co-glycidyl methacrylate} brushes were fabricated via two-step atom-transfer radical polymerization and used as a trypsin-based reactor in a continuous flow system. This is the first time that atom-transfer radical polymerization technique was utilized to design and construct polymer monolith bioreactor. The prepared monoliths possessed excellent permeability, providing fast mass transfer for enzymatic reaction. More importantly, surface properties, which were modulated via surface-initiated atom-transfer radical polymerization, were found to have a great effect on bioreactor activities based on Michaelis-Menten studies. Furthermore, three model proteins were digested by the monolith bioreactor to a larger degree within dramatically reduced time (50 s), about 900 times faster than that by free trypsin (12 h). The proposed method provided a platform to prepare porous monoliths with desired surface properties for immobilizing various enzymes.