(548a) Nanostirrer for Thin Film Phase Biotransformations

Iron oxide (Fe3O4) superparamagnetic nanoparticles were fabricated for interfacial assembling and applied to improve the mobility of bioactive enzyme placed in a thin film phase under electromagnetic field. The nanoparticles were coupled with polymer conjugated enzymes. The resulted nanoscale complex can self assemble at oil-water interfaces, forming a thin film phase. An external electromagnetic field was applied to drive the motion of the complex in the thin film phase to facilitate biological reactions between chemicals across the interface catalyzed by the interface-assembled enzymes. The external force-driven motion of the nanoparticles, which act as nanoscale stirrers whose mobility was quantified through fluorescent microscopic visualization, enabled over 640% of improvement in the observed reaction rate as compared to reactions in the absence of the magnetic field.