Abstract
Porous polysulfone (PSF) beads and composite beads (PSF-Cu-MT-Sil) obtained by incorporating copper-metallothionein functionalized silica in a polysulfone solution were prepared using the phase inversion method. Their characteristics were investigated with experiments of swelling, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and SEM microscopic analysis. Polysulfone and composite beads were used in catalase (CAT) immobilization. The kinetics of the biocatalytic process, stability under different temperature conditions and the inhibitors effect were studied as major factors on the immobilized catalase activity. The present work is meant to demonstrate the potential of crosslinked polysulfone and especially polysulfone with copper- metallothionein beads for the enzyme immobilization process. Keywords: polysulfone, composite beads, catalase, enzyme immobilization