Immobilization of Lipases - A Review. Part II: Carrier Materials

Carriers used in the immobilization process play a major role in enhancing the properties of the biocatalyst. Polymers are used as organic carriers for enzyme immobilization to improve the thermal, chemical, and operational stability of the enzyme. A variety of carriers are used in the immobilization of enzymes, e.g., mica, silica, zeolites, hydrotalcites, activated carbon, gold and magnetic nanoparticles. Silica-based carriers offer suitable matrices for enzyme immobilization to manufacture industrial products. Immobilization on nanoparticles has become attractive in biocatalytic applications due to the combination of physical, chemical, catalytic, electronic, and optical properties. Gold nanoparticles also have received attention in the preparation of biocatalysts due to the above-mentioned reasons. Magnetic nanoparticles are used as a carrier since they can be isolated by an external magnetic field, which is of special interest in the synthesis of organic products such as biodiesel. Different carrier materials involved in the immobilization of enzymes are discussed in this paper.