Ultrafiltration membranes for chemical bonding of urease.

Asymmetric ultrafiltration membranes suitable for covalent bonding of urease can be prepared from membranes based upon polyamide or polysulfone. Because the original membrane polymers are not chemically reactive, they have to be converted in such a way that known reactions for enzyme fixation can be used such as the diazo, the acyl-acid, the carbodiimide, and the methylbromide reaction. The enzyme was fixed within the porous substructure of the membrane. The amount of enzyme immobilized at the membrane dense skin was found to be negligible. The kinetics can be described according to the Michaelis-Menten model. Compared to the native urease, the activity of the membrane-bonded enzyme was very low. The reasons can be sought in the transmembrane transport and in the fixation procedure as well.