(168b) Nanobiocatalytic Antifouling in Wastewater Treatment Via Quorum Quenching

Enzymes can be employed as an effective tool to solve a variety of environmental problems such as membrane biofouling, microbial contamination, and even global warming due to CO₂ emission. However, the poor stability of enzymes often hampers the practical uses of enzymes for a long-term operation. Nanobiocatalysis, using nanostructured materials for the enzyme immobilization, has gathered a growing attention due to its unprecedented successes in improving the enzyme stability as well as enzyme loading. This presentation will introduce the recent developments of nanobiocatalysis with a quorum-quenching acylase for membrane antifouling in wastewater treatment. Acylase catalyzes the hydrolysis of signal molecules for quorum sensing among microorganisms, which plays an important role in the formation of microbial biofilms. Acylase was immobilized and stabilized in/on nanostructured materials via nanobiocatalytic approaches for their successful antifouling of membrane via quorum quenching mechanism. Several representative examples of nanobiocatalysis for effective antifouling will be presented in detail.