Processing of soda–lime glass membranes by filler principle for the enzyme coupling applications

Open-pore soda–lime glass membranes were processed following the filler principle. In this process salt is homogeneously mixed with glass powder and acts as an inorganic non-sinterizable additive. The salt is then removed and a continuous porous structure is formed. The microstructure of the final sintered and washed compacts was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy and found to be dependent on the features of the inorganic solvent. The main pore configuration is that of flat walls, which are determined by the salt morphology and have mean diameters of around 40 μm. The smoothness of the pores formed is favorable to a homogeneous enzyme deposition of which interconnection features improve the contact of the liquid and the reactive immobilized film. The roughness of the pore wall before and after the enzyme deposition by self-assembly technique was evaluated by atomic force microscopy, where the reduction of the corrugated profiles after deposition was attributed to enzyme coupling and consequent film formation.