The impact of electrospinning conditions on the properties of enzymes immobilized on electrospun materials: Exploring applications and future perspectives

Abstract

The electrospinning technique allows the production of materials from a wide range of polymers and biopolymers with designed and specified properties which positively affect the stability of the enzyme-support interactions and the activity of immobilized enzymes. This review focuses on electrospun materials, their fabrication, features and application in enzyme immobilization processes, and on electrospun-based heterogeneous biocatalysts in various fields such as environmental protection, biosensing, the food industry, medicine and pharmacy. Though numerous review articles have recently been published on enzyme immobilization, there is a lack of comprehensive studies addressing the effect of the functional and morphological characteristics of electrospun materials on the properties and practical application of the immobilized enzymes. The primary challenge in the production of electrospun fibers lies in optimizing the electrospinning parameters, including component concentration, voltage, needle tip-to-collector distance, flow rate, temperature, and humidity. Mismatched conditions or precursors can lead to failures in fiber formation and the emergence of beads within the fibers. It can compromise the mechanical stability of the materials produced and potentially impact the properties of enzyme immobilization and its potential applications. Our overview will therefore be valuable for the selection and production of electrospun materials with special applications in enzyme immobilization for various groups of enzymes. We also summarize and highlight current research gaps and possible future applications of electrospun fibers with immobilized enzymes.