A novel enzyme membrane reactor with sandwich structure has been developed by confining glucosidase between two sheets of ultrafiltration membranes to effectively convert maltose to isomaltooligosaccharides (IMOs). The hydrophilic ultrafiltration membranes, which were prepared by phase inversion method using PES as bulk polymer and Pluronic F127 as both surface modification and pore formation agent, exhibited the desirable enzyme adsorption-resistant property. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) photographs showed that two sheets of PES/Pluronic F127 membranes were packed tightly and glucosidase was kept in a free state within a nanoscale space. When the weight ratio of Pluronic F127 to PES was 30%, glucosidase could be completely rejected by the membranes. Due to the sandwich structuring of the membrane reactor and the high hydrophilicity of the PES/Pluronic F127 membrane surface, maltose conversion and yield reached 100% and 58% under the optimum experimental conditions (pH 6.0, 50 degrees C), respectively.
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