Enzyme Immobilization via Complex Coacervation with Polyampholytes

Complex coacervation is a liquid-liquid phase separation that is driven by non-covalent interactions and entropy gain as a result of counterion release. Coacervation is considered as the basis of membraneless organelles, and is used in various industrial applications. Our goal is to use coacervation for enzyme immobilization to maintain or enhance enzyme activity. Considering that biologically-origined macromolecules will have a higher range of application areas in medicine, we have chosen to work on coacervation of hyaluronic-acid derived polyampholytes with lysozyme. SANS measurements coupled with contrast matching will allow us to understand the structure of their coacervates, including the respective distribution of the enzymes and polyampholytes in the coacervate.