The Enzyme Immobilization: Carriers and Immobilization methods

Abstract

Strategies based on the enzyme application are increasingly replacing the conventional
chemical procedures because of their efficiency, quicker performance and environmental
protection. However, natural enzymes can rarely be used in industry
since their beneficial features cannot endure the industrial conditions. Additional
drawbacks of natural enzymes are their inhibition by reaction products and difficulty
to be removed from the reaction mixture. The most promising technique
to substantially improve the enzyme properties, such as activity, pH, thermal and
organic-solvent stability, reusability and storage stability, in non-natural environments
is by the enzyme immobilization. In this review different techniques used
to immobilize enzymes to inert carriers were summarized. Different materials of
both the organic and inorganic origin were used as carriers for the enzyme immobilization.
A class of new materials where the enzyme performance was enhanced
by combining different classical materials and shaping in specific forms was also
summarized.