Graphene oxide in cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) reverse micelle: a befitting soft nanocomposite for improving efficiency of surface-active enzymes.

Herein, we report the successful inclusion of 2D allotrope of carbon, graphene oxide (GO) in cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)/isooctane/n-hexanol/water reverse micelle without compromising the stability of water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsion. This newly developed self-assembled nanocomposites act as proficient host for surface-active enzymes, lipase, horseradish peroxidase (HRP), and soybean peroxidase (SBP). Lipase activity within GO-doped CTAB reverse micelles remarkably improved by 3.8-fold compared to that was observed in only CTAB reverse micelle (second-order rate constant, k2=433±7 cm3 g(-1) s(-1)). In case of GO-doped CTAB reverse micelle, the observed enzyme activity (k2=1653±11 cm3 g(-1) s(-1)) is till date the highest ever activity of lipase in CTAB w/o microemulsions. In case of HRP and SBP, the catalytic efficiency maximally increased up to 2.6-fold and 2.3-fold, respectively. Electrostatic attraction between cationic head group of CTAB and anionic surface of GO as well as intrinsic amphiphilic character of GO possibly resulted in the confinement of this 2D nanosheet at the interface of reverse micelles. Integration of GO at the interface augmented the interfacial space in vicinity of surface-active enzyme. This enlarged interface might have accommodated higher amount of substrate and lipase with flexibility in its conformation resulting in marked improvement in the enzyme activity. Interfacial localization of GO was established by fluorescence spectroscopy. In addition, change in secondary structure of lipase in presence of 2D carbon allotrope was substantiated by circular dichroism spectroscopy.