PNNL

Abstract

The last decade has witnessed notable breakthroughs in nanotechnology with development of various nanostructured materials such as mesoporous materials and nanoparticles. These nanostructures have been used as a host for enzyme immobilization via various approaches, such as enzyme adsorption, covalent attachment, enzyme encapsulation, and sophisticated combinations of methods. This review discusses the stabilization mechanisms behind these diverse approaches; such as confinement, pore size and volume, charge interaction, hydrophobic interaction, and multipoint attachment. In addition, we will introduce recent rigorous approaches to improve the enzyme stability in these nanostructures or develop new nanostructures for the enzyme stabilization. Especially, we will introduce our recent invention of a nanostructure, called single enzyme nanoparticles (SENs). In the form of SENs, each enzyme molecule is surrounded with a nanometer scale network, resulting in stabilization of enzyme activity without any serious limitation for the substrate transfer from solution to the active site. SENs can be further immobilized into mesoporous silica with a large surface area, providing a hierarchical approach for stable, immobilized enzyme systems for various applications, such as bioconversion, bioremediation, and biosensors.