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Enzymatic reactions in confined environments

Nature Nanotechnology volume 11, pages 409–420 (2016)Cite this article

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Abstract

Within each biological cell, surface- and volume-confined enzymes control a highly complex network of chemical reactions. These reactions are efficient, timely, and spatially defined. Efforts to transfer such appealing features to in vitro systems have led to several successful examples of chemical reactions catalysed by isolated and immobilized enzymes. In most cases, these enzymes are either bound or adsorbed to an insoluble support, physically trapped in a macromolecular network, or encapsulated within compartments. Advanced applications of enzymatic cascade reactions with immobilized enzymes include enzymatic fuel cells and enzymatic nanoreactors, both for in vitro and possible in vivo applications. In this Review, we discuss some of the general principles of enzymatic reactions confined on surfaces, at interfaces, and inside small volumes. We also highlight the similarities and differences between the in vivo and in vitro cases and attempt to critically evaluate some of the necessary future steps to improve our fundamental understanding of these systems.

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Figure 1: Enzyme immobilization on solid supports for surface-confined enzymatic reactions in an aqueous environment.
Figure 2: Examples of surface-confined enzymatic cascade reactions.
Figure 3: Two examples of the application of surface-confined enzymatic reactions.
Figure 4: Volume-confined enzymatic reactions.
Figure 5: Two examples of enzymatic reactions inside vesicles.
Figure 6: Examples of volume-confined enzymatic reactions.
Figure 7: Protein capsule-confined enzymatic reaction, whereby the three enzymes of a cascade reaction were encapsulated at a defined ratio.

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Acknowledgements

Financial support for the stimulating meetings of the COST action CM1304 on the 'Emergence and Evolution of Complex Chemical systems' is highly appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 5, Zürich, CH-8093, Switzerland

    Andreas Küchler, Sandra Luginbühl & Peter Walde

  2. Department of Applied Molecular Bioscience, Yamaguchi University, Tokiwadai 2-16-1, 755-8611, Ube, Japan

    Makoto Yoshimoto

  3. Chemistry Department, University 'Aldo Moro', Via Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy

    Fabio Mavelli

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  1. Andreas Küchler
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  2. Makoto Yoshimoto
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  3. Sandra Luginbühl
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  4. Fabio Mavelli
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  5. Peter Walde
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Correspondence to Peter Walde.

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Küchler, A., Yoshimoto, M., Luginbühl, S. et al. Enzymatic reactions in confined environments. Nature Nanotech 11, 409–420 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2016.54

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