Bio/carbon nanomaterials - The adsorption of lysozyme on mesoporous carbon molecular sieves

The adsorption of lysozyme on mesoporous carbon, i.e., CMK-3 and CMK-1, from buffered solutions of different pH (pH = 6.5-12) has been studied. The amount adsorbed depends on the solution pH as well as on the pore size. The maximum adsorption was observed near the isoelectric point of lysozyme, suggesting that suppression of electric repulsion between the enzymes is an important factor in the adsorption process. The unaltered structural characteristics of the mesoporous adsorbents after the adsorption have been confirmed by physico-chemical characterization techniques such as XRD and N-2 adsorption. In addition, IR spectroscopic studies confirmed that the proteins used in this study are stable even after adsorption on the mesoporous carbon.