A General Overview of Support Materials for Enzyme Immobilization: Characteristics, Properties, Practical Utility

TLDR

Enzyme immobilization is a powerful tool for improving enzyme stability and reusability, but the choice of support material critically influences the resulting catalytic system’s properties, and a wide range of inorganic, organic, hybrid, and composite supports are available. The review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the characteristics and properties of materials used for enzyme immobilization. The study categorizes support materials into Classic and New groups for systematic analysis. The review assists in selecting suitable support materials with tailored properties to produce highly effective biocatalytic systems for diverse processes.

Abstract

In recent years, enzyme immobilization has been presented as a powerful tool for the improvement of enzyme properties such as stability and reusability. However, the type of support material used plays a crucial role in the immobilization process due to the strong effect of these materials on the properties of the produced catalytic system. A large variety of inorganic and organic as well as hybrid and composite materials may be used as stable and efficient supports for biocatalysts. This review provides a general overview of the characteristics and properties of the materials applied for enzyme immobilization. For the purposes of this literature study, support materials are divided into two main groups, called Classic and New materials. The review will be useful in selection of appropriate support materials with tailored properties for the production of highly effective biocatalytic systems for use in various processes.