Properties of methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-lipase from Candida rugosa in organic solvents

Overview on immobilization of enzymes on synthetic polymeric nanofibers fabricated by electrospinning

The arrangement and type of support has a significant impact on the efficiency of immobilized enzymes. 1-dimensional fibrous materials can be one of the most desirable supports for enzyme immobilization. This is due to their high surface area to volume ratio, internal porosity, ease of handling, and high mechanical stability, all of which allow a higher enzyme loading, release and finally lead to better catalytic efficiency. Fortunately, the enzymes can reside inside individual nanofibers to remain encapsulated and retain their three-dimensional structure. These properties can protect the enzyme's tolerance against harsh conditions such as pH variations and high temperature, and this can probably enhance the enzyme's stability. This review article will discuss the immobilization of enzymes on synthetic polymers, which are fabricated into nanofibers by electrospinning. This technique is rapidly gaining popularity as one of the most practical ways to fibricate polymer, metal oxide, and composite micro or nanofibers. As a result, there is interest in using nanofibers to immobilize enzymes. Furthermore, present research on electrospun nanofibers for enzyme immobilization is primarily limited to the lab scale and industrial scale is still challanging. The primary future research objectives of this paper is to investigate the use of electrospun nanofibers for enzyme immobilization, which includes increasing yield to transfer biological products into commercial applications.

Enzyme-carrying electrospun nanofibers

Compared to other nanomaterials as supports for enzyme immobilization, nanofibers provide a promising configuration in balancing the key factors governing the catalytic performance of the immobilized enzymes including surface area-to-volume ratio, mass transfer resistance, effective loading, and the easiness to recycle. Synthetic and natural polymers can be fabricated into nanofibers via a physical process called electrospinning. The process requires only simple apparatus to operate, yet has proved to be very flexible in the selection of feedstock materials and also effective to control and manipulate the properties of the resulting nanofibers such as size and surface morphology, which are typically important parameters for enzyme immobilization supports. This chapter describes a protocol for the preparation of nanofibrous enzyme, involving the synthesis and end-group functionalization of polystyrene, production of electrospun nanofibers, and surface immobilization of enzyme via covalent attachment.