Uses in Basic Research

Abstract

Immobilized enzymes are better suited for the investigation of some of the problems in basic research than their soluble, native forms. In the majority of the examples described below, the binding of the enzymes to carriers makes it possible to expose them to a succession of different media. With soluble enzymes, however, an extremely laborious procedure is necessary for separating a reaction product from the enzyme protein. Another argument in favor of using immobilized enzymes, either coupled to a carrier or confined within a definite space, is that this is the situation prevailing in the native cell, where many enzymes are membrane-bound or localized in compartments. Such conditions can be imitated by the use of immobilized enzymes, which also have the advantage of being easier to study.