title: Enzyme stabilization and immobilization by sol-gel entrapment.
abstract: While biocatalysts show tremendous potential for the industrial production of fine chemicals, their integration into large-scale processes has been slow. One of the main reasons for slow acceptance in industry is the inherent instability of the enzymes. Recent developments in bioengineering have shed some light on methods of improving enzyme stability. One method that has been used for many decades, successfully to varying degrees, has been the immobilization of enzymes. To this regards, silica gels have attracted much attention because of the ease of surface functionalization, high surface areas, mechanical and thermal stability, and resistance to both chemical and biological attack. We have previously shown the immobilization of invertase on silica gels with high immobilized activity and significantly improved stability. Here, we provide greater details on the methods for effecting the immobilization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Allan E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: David
authors.forename: Arthur J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Nam Sun
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D001236:Aspergillus oryzae / Q000201:enzymology; D057005:Bioengineering / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D002384:Catalysis; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000737:chemistry; D004795:Enzyme Stability; D004800:Enzymes, Immobilized / Q000737:chemistry*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D044367:Phase Transition; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000201:enzymology; D058428:Silica Gel / Q000737:chemistry*; D000516:alpha-Amylases / Q000737:chemistry*; D043324:beta-Fructofuranosidase / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D004800:Enzymes, Immobilized; D058428:Silica Gel; D000516:alpha-Amylases; D043324:beta-Fructofuranosidase