Abstract
The European Green Deal aims at transforming the current European economy into one that is sustainable, climate neutral, and circular by 2050. Many current anthropogenic activities lead however, to the release of harmful contaminants, such as phenolic compounds, in the environment. There is a need for sensitive, easy-to-use sensors to monitor these contaminants. Peroxidases are very versatile enzymes that are able to oxidize or convert many molecules, including phenolic compounds. Biosensors based on horseradish peroxidase have shown to be promising for detection of phenolic compounds. This project focuses on the use of dye-decolorizing peroxidases to extend the potential target analyte molecules. The bottleneck in the development of protein-based biosensors concerns the immobilization of the proteins on suitable supports. Here, titania will be used as support because of their biocompatibility. The key conditions of protein immobilization will be varied and their influence on the enzyme structure and activity evaluated. EPR techniques in combination with electrochemistry will be used to characterize the involved peroxidases, titania, and hybrid materials. This will lead to in-depth molecular insight in the systems, allowing a more rational design of the hybrid materials for biosensing, biotechnology, and biocatalysis. Finally, novel electrochemical biosensors will be developed and evaluated.
Researcher(s)
Research team(s)
- Theory and Spectroscopy of Molecules and Materials (TSM²)
Project type(s)