Abstract
Microreaction technology, which is an interdisciplinary science and engineering area, has been the focus of different fields of research in the past few years. Several microreactors have been developed. Enzymes are a type of catalyst, which are useful in the production of substance in an environmentally friendly way, and they also have high potential for analytical applications. However, not many enzymatic processes have been commercialized, because of problems in stability of the enzymes, cost, and efficiency of the reactions. Thus, there have been demands for innovation in process engineering, particularly for enzymatic reactions, and microreaction devices represent important tools for the development of enzyme processes. In this review, we summarize the recent advances of microchannel reaction technologies especially for enzyme immobilized microreactors. We discuss the manufacturing process of microreaction devices and the advantages of microreactors compared to conventional reaction devices. Fundamental techniques for enzyme immobilized microreactors and important applications of this multidisciplinary technology are also included in our topics.
Highlights
Microfluidic reaction devices, which can be prepared by microfabrication techniques, or by assembly and modification of microcapillaries, constitute reaction apparatus with small dimensions, large surface to volume ratios and well defined reaction times [1,2,3]
We have developed a technique that forms an enzyme-immobilizing membrane on the microchannel surface [58]. This is a modification of cross-linked enzyme aggregate (CLEA) formation, which is used in batchwise organic synthesis [62]
Microchannel devices can be useful in imitating biological reaction apparatus, such as cellular surfaces and vascular systems, by providing the advantages of limited space and laminar flow compared with the conventional reaction apparatus
Summary
Microfluidic reaction devices, which can be prepared by microfabrication techniques, or by assembly and modification of microcapillaries, constitute reaction apparatus with small dimensions, large surface to volume ratios and well defined reaction times [1,2,3]. These systems take advantage of microfluidics or nanofluidics that enables use of micro- or nanoliter volumes of reactant solutions and offer the advantages of high efficiency and repeatability. Fundamental techniques for enzyme-immobilized microreactors and important applications of this multidisciplinary technology are presented
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