Immobilized enzymes articles from across Nature Portfolio

Lignin-derived phenolic acids can be upgraded to styrene derivatives through chemoenzymatic processes, however, the scale-up of such processes remains challenging. Here, the authors find that controlling the water activity during the decarboxylation of bio-based phenolic acids, including through the integration of a water reservoir, enables high conversions and efficient reaction times, that can be combined with a versatile acyl donor substrate scope.

Hollow inorganic spheres (HISs) hold potential in various technological areas including biocatalysis and biomedicine, but the harsh synthetic conditions have precluded the use of HISs in biological fields. Here, the authors report a biocompatible strategy for synthesizing metal hydroxide HISs that can function as tandem-biocatalytic reactors.

Multi-enzymatic cascades benefit from precise nanometric organization but achieving this using available scaffolds is challenging. Here the authors present strategy for organizing multienzymatic systems using a protein scaffold based on TRAP domains, and demonstrate improved catalytic output.

Biocatalysis using immobilized enzymes is increasingly replacing traditional methods of manufacturing fine chemicals but heir industrial applications are limited by the low specific activity and poor stability. Here, the authors report a feasible strategy utilizing the synergistic bridging of triazoles and metal ions to induce the formation of porous enzyme-assembled hydrogels with increased activity.

The authors present a simple and cost-efficient approach for the covalent coupling of enzymes on solid supports or for the intermolecular cross-linking of enzymes.

Fusion systems have been designed that link enzymes to cofactors and immobilization modules through appropriate synthetic spacers. These modular biocatalysts (assembling catalysis, cofactor provision/regeneration and assisted immobilization) are suited to heterogeneous biocatalysis systems and can be efficiently used in continuous flow reactors.