Enzyme catalysis on solid surfaces

Abstract

Enzyme-catalysed reactions in which substrates are bound (immobilised) to solid surfaces are becoming increasingly important in biotechnology. There is a general drive for miniaturisation and automation in chemistry and biology, and immobilisation of the reaction intermediates and substrates, for example on microarrays or nanoparticles, helps to address technical challenges in this area. In bionanotechnology, enzyme catalysis can provide highly selective and biocompatible tools for the modification of surfaces on the nano-scale. Here, we review the range of enzyme-catalysed reactions that have been successfully performed on the solid phase and discuss their application in biotechnology.