Bioinspired design of DNA in aqueous ionic liquid media for sustainable packaging of horseradish peroxidase under biotic stress

Abstract

Herein, we show that a bio-inspired solvent system combining DNA and IL significantly increases the stability and activity of HRP and achieves a 4.8-fold higher peroxidase activity than PBS buffer. IL and DNA interact with HRP near the heme binding site, forming a protective environment that enhances catalytic performance without affecting the active site. In addition, DNA+IL media provide a sustainable strategy for packaging HRP for use under biotic stress. HRP retains 84% of its activity in IL+DNA compared to 24% in PBS (pH 7.4) against trypsin digestion. Docking and spectroscopic studies show a synergistic effect in which the IL+DNA system creates a protective microenvironment that increases the structural integrity of HRP and resistance to proteolytic degradation, making this approach promising for the development of robust biocatalytic systems.