Rubber-like Material for the Immobilization of Proteins and Its Use in Lighting, Diagnosis and Biocatalysis

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This invention describes the preparation of a novel rubber-like material that can immobilize proteins—such as enzymes or luminescent proteins—within its structure. The material is formed by combining a branched polymer (e.g., trimethylolpropane ethoxylate) and a linear polymer (e.g., poly(ethylene oxide)) in water, incorporating the protein of interest, gelling the mixture, and then drying it. The resulting flexible, elastic matrix stabilizes and maintains the activity of the embedded proteins, making them useful for a range of technological and industrial purposes. Notably, the process avoids harsh chemical crosslinking or high-temperature treatments, allowing gentle encapsulation while retaining protein function.

Use CasesContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Coating for hybrid light-emitting diodes (LEDs), enabling 'down-conversion' of light to create efficient, tunable white LEDs using luminescent proteins or dyes.
• Diagnostic devices such as biosensors, test strips, or single-use kits that utilize immobilized enzymes or proteins for detecting biologically relevant molecules (e.g., metabolites, nucleic acids) with greater storage stability.
• Bioreactors utilizing immobilized enzymes within the rubber-like matrix to catalyze biochemical transformations efficiently in industrial or laboratory processes.
• Encapsulation and storage of sensitive proteins at ambient temperature without the need for refrigeration, facilitating transportation and ease of use in remote or resource-limited settings.
• Flexible, three-dimensional coatings or films for optoelectronic devices, wearable sensors, and other biotechnology applications where elasticity, protein stability, and ease of processing are important.
• Universal matrix for immobilization of a wide range of proteins and even non-protein active materials for research, industrial, or commercial uses.

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Gentle immobilization process preserves protein structure and function, avoiding denaturation or loss of activity.
• Wide applicability—works with diverse proteins (enzymes, fluorescent/luminescent proteins), fusion proteins, and even non-protein active compounds; can be adapted to various solvents.
• Stable under ambient conditions and resists the need for refrigeration, enabling storage and use at room temperature for weeks, which benefits logistics and point-of-care diagnostics.
• Elastomeric (rubber-like) mechanical properties facilitate ease of handling, deposition on various 3D surfaces, flexible electronics, and multi-layered device architectures.
• No need for harsh crosslinking agents, UV/gamma radiation, or thermal curing, making the process simpler, safer, more cost-effective, and suitable for sensitive biomolecules.
• Enables easy, scalable fabrication of thin films or bulk forms, including multilayer coatings that enhance energy transfer and functional device assembly.
• Provides environmental benefits by potentially replacing rare-earth phosphor materials in LEDs with biodegradable, bio-derived proteins or dyes, and reducing device fabrication complexity and cost.
• Improves long-term enzyme stability, minimizing the risk of deactivation and facilitating industrial biocatalysis.

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Patent Abstract

The present invention relates to a process of preparing a rubber-like material containing a protein immobilized therein, as well as a corresponding rubber-like material, the process comprising the steps of (a) mixing a protein, a branched polymer such as trimethylolpropane ethoxylate and a linear polymer such as poly( ethylene oxide) in an aqueous solution to form a gel, and (b) drying the gel to obtain a rubber-like material containing the protein immobilized therein, wherein the branched polymer comprises at least three polymeric branches bound to a central branching unit. The rubber-like material allows the immobilization and stabilization of a wide range of different proteins, including luminescent proteins as well as enzymes, and can particularly advantageously be used as down-converting material for light-emitting diodes (LEDs), for diagnostic applications, and in bioreactors.