Regenerable graft of laccase on glycosylated membrane for treatment of aquatic micropollutants

Biocatalytic membranes with convenient assembly and favorable activity regeneration are highly desired for practical water treatment. Herein, glycosylated membrane has been developed as a regenerable matrix for immobilizing laccase via specific carbohydrate-protein recognition, using Concanavalin A as the bridge. The laccase-immobilized biocatalytic membranes have been successfully used to treat aquatic micropollutants. Plenty of saccharide units are introduced to the surface of substrate, contributing to enhance hydrophilicity . The removal ratio of bisphenol A (BPA) is significantly improved thanks to the pore narrowing effect and laccase-induced degradation process. Moreover, the biocatalytic membrane could be rapidly regenerated by chemical rinsing and the lectins are also able to be reloaded. As a result, thus-prepared biocatalytic membrane can be repeatedly used with good BPA removal for 8 cycles. This work not only presents a simple and reliable method to make glycosylated membrane, but also provides a guidance of biocatalytic membranes for water treatment.