β-Lactam antibiotics are one of the most relevant drugs worldwide and have tremendously reduced the mortality associated with bacterial infections. However, increased antibiotic resistance has caused a serious threat to ecological environment and human health. Therefore, development of effective strategies for degradation in water is urgently needed.
Immobilized β-lactamase onto aminosilane magnetic nanoparticles was used for the degradation of penicillin (PEN). Degradation study of PEN was performed with free and immobilized β-lactamase and analyzed using the HPLC system. The degradation study of PEN suggests that immobilized β-lactamase degrades PEN more efficiently than free enzyme, since it achieved 98% degradation of PEN after 24 hours, compared to free enzyme (22%). The results show that such immobilized β-lactamase is thermally stable and can be reused for degradation of PEN, therefore providing an efficient tool for successful water treatments.
