Tunable Polymeric Scaffolds for Enzyme Immobilization.

Andoni Rodriguez-Abetxuko,Pablo Muñumer,Daniel Sánchez-Dealcázar,Ana Beloqui

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2020.00830

Andoni Rodriguez-Abetxuko, Pablo Muñumer + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2020.00830

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Abstract

The number of methodologies for the immobilization of enzymes using polymeric supports is continuously growing due to the developments in the fields of biotechnology, polymer chemistry, and nanotechnology in the last years. Despite being excellent catalysts, enzymes are very sensitive molecules and can undergo denaturation beyond their natural environment. For overcoming this issue, polymer chemistry offers a wealth of opportunities for the successful combination of enzymes with versatile natural or synthetic polymers. The fabrication of functional, stable, and robust biocatalytic hybrid materials (nanoparticles, capsules, hydrogels, or films) has been proven advantageous for several applications such as biomedicine, organic synthesis, biosensing, and bioremediation. In this review, supported with recent examples of enzyme-protein hybrids, we provide an overview of the methods used to combine both macromolecules, as well as the future directions and the main challenges that are currently being tackled in this field.

Highlights

The relevance of enzymes comprises numerous chemical processes in Nature, as they are the main actors in the metabolic machinery of each single organism
The synthesis of the hybrid is facilitated either through the formation of covalent bonds or through non-bonding interactions between the enzyme and the polymer. It is not the main focus of this review, we provide a short description of the strategies used for the fabrication of the hybrids, those needed to ease the understanding of the formation of the enzyme-polymer hybrids described below
We summarize the most relevant structures found in the literature, sorted out by the size of the enzyme-polymer hybrid, from nanobiocatalysts to microand macrosystems

Summary

Introduction

The relevance of enzymes comprises numerous chemical processes in Nature, as they are the main actors in the metabolic machinery of each single organism. In a well-designed three component system (enzyme, polymer, and methodology) (Scheme 1), the enzyme should retain its functionality, and the polymeric material should provide the catalytic hybrid with the aimed features (e.g., recyclability, stability in organic solvents) to find potential synergistic properties.

Results

Conclusion