Immobilization of Transglutaminase on multi-walled carbon nanotubes and its application as bioinspired hydrogel scaffolds.

The chemical cross-linkers are difficult to be removed from the scaffold materials, which limit their application in tissue engineering; designing an efficient biocompatible hydrogel is though challenging is desirable. The aim of the present study was to immobilize microbial Transglutaminase (MTGase) enzyme on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for its application in hydrogel scaffolds designing. MTGase from Streptomyces mobaraensis, a non-toxic biological cross-linker, was employed for a greener approach with enhanced biochemical and structural properties. The maximum immobilization efficiency of 58% was achieved when MTGase was covalently coupled on MWCNTs. The kinetic studies showed 4.76-fold increase in catalytic efficiency and good reusability upto seven cycles. Attachment of enzyme on MWCNTs surface was studied through SEM and FTIR. The immobilized enzyme showed good cross-linking efficiency in gelatin hydrogel scaffold resulting decrease in swelling ratio of hydrogel. Our findings report for the first time the development of novel biocompatible hydrogel scaffolds with immobilized MTGase onto MWCNTS. Inevitable damage of hydrogels are incurred during their applications. To offset the damage of hydrogels, the creation of bioinspired hydrogels emulating native tissue microenvironment is highly significant. Microbial TGase holds promising future with its applicability as a cross-linker of hydrogel scaffolds in the area of tissue engineering.