Stabilization of Enzymes for Biotechnological Applications

Abstract

The biotechnological applications use stable and eco-friendly biocatalysts, with good operational properties, reusable and easily separable. An efficient method of improving the stability of enzymes as biocatalysts may be the immobilization. The enzymes immobilization research objectives are obtaining stable and versatile insoluble enzyme preparations with high enzymatic activity, capable of catalyzing the reactions of their natural and unnatural substrates. If active and stable water – insoluble enzymes, immobilized enzymes having appropriate substrate specificity can be obtained, it becomes possible to use enzymes conveniently in the same way as ordinary solid catalysts in synthetic biochemical reactions. In addition, since enzymes can catalyse specific reactions under mild conditions (normal temperature and pressure), application of immobilized enzymes in large scale bioconversion processes can reduce energy requirements. For some specific applications simple immobilization methods can be used. To increase the catalytic efficiency of immobilized enzyme preparations combinations of these methods can be handled to maximize the advantages presented by them. The physico-chemical properties of the supports used for enzymes immobilization influence the enzymatic activity and the immobilization yields of the immobilized preparations. The aimed of this work was to find efficient methods to stabilize enzymatic preparations with a good balance between costs associated and biocatalytic efficiency.