Preparation, characterization and biocatalytic activity of a nanoconjugate of alpha amylase and silver nanoparticles.

The primary challenge in developing nanoparticle based enzymatic devices is to be able to chemically immobilize an enzyme, which will retain its activity or improve its function while being attached to the nanoparticle. This would be of even greater significance if the whole process could be performed under benign conditions without having to resort to functionalization of key molecules at various steps. In the present study the conjugates of amylase and silver nanoparticles were synthesized using neem leaf extract as the reducing and stabilizing agent. The silver nanoparticles were characterized using Surface Plasmon Resonance Spectra, Dynamic Light Spectroscopy (DLS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Circular Dichroism (CD) and Surface Tunneling Microscopy (STM). The silver nanoparticles retained 85% amylase activity. The nanobiocatalyst was further characterized in terms of kinetic parameters and thermal stability. It was thermally more stable as compared to the free alpha amylase enzyme.