Investigation of the usage of the lipase attached micromotors for degradation of oils as water contaminant

Objective: In this thesis, it is aimed to investigate the potential of preparation and use of micromotors containing lipase enzyme for the degradation of oils as water pollutants. Materials and Methods: In this thesis, PPy-COOH/Ni micromotors were synthesized and lipase enzyme was covalently attached to these micromotors. Lipase attached micromotors were characterized by SEM, EDX and FTIR techniques. The activity of free and immobilized lipase was examined and its stability was evaluated. In addition, the efficiency of lipase-attached micromotors to break up an oil droplet was also evaluated. Results: The optimum pH of the lipase attached micromotors was 8.0 and the optimum temperature was found to be 45 °C. Compared to free lipase, the thermal and storage stability of immobilized lipase was found to be higher and it could be used repeatedly. The immobilized lipase degradated the tributyrin oil droplet 90% after 90 minutes. Conclusion: It has been observed that the lipase attached micromotors prepared in this thesis have the potential to degradation of fat.