Glucose-Responsive Enzymatic Cascade Microreactors in Gas-Shearing Microfluidics Microcapsules

Enzymatic cascade reactions are essential for metabolic pathway and biological signal transduction in living cells. More and more attention has been paid to artificial microreactors, which mimic these efficient, methodical, and selective biological cascade catalytic systems in cells. Natural hydrogels such as alginate and chitosan are thought of as suitable materials for matching the chemical, physical, and mechanical properties with extracellular matrix. Inspired by the structures of eukaryotic cells, alginate/chitosan multicompartment microcapsules for enzymatic cascade reaction are developed using an oil-free gas-shearing method. Multiple enzymes as biocatalysts are encapsulated in the particles to resemble complex physiological reactions. Biocatalysts, including glucose oxidase and peroxidase in alginate Janus core as a model, sense the external hyperglycemic environment, resulting in insulin release following chitosan shell protonation. The microcapsules show an excellent recyclability, room-temperature long-term and anti-proteolysis stability. The microreactor approach leads to the development of a multi-enzymatic cascade reaction system and provides an ideal carbohydrate platform to further understand the biomimetic metabolic function of organelles and organs.