Enzymes are versatile catalysts in the laboratory and on an industrial scale. To broaden their applicability in the laboratory and to ensure their (re)use in manufacturing the stability of enzymes can often require improvement. Immobilisation can address the issue of enzymatic instability. Immobilisation can also help to enable the employment of enzymes in different solvents, at extremes of pH and temperature and exceptionally high substrate concentrations. At the same time substrate-specificity, enantioselectivity and reactivity can be modified. However, most often the molecular and physical-chemical bases of these phenomena have not been elucidated yet. This tutorial review focuses on the understanding of enzyme immobilisation.

Mesoporous silicates (MPS) have an ordered pore structure with dimensions comparable to many biological molecules. They have been extensively explored as supports for proteins and enzymes in biocatalytic applications. Since their initial discovery, novel syntheses methods have led to precise control over pore size and structure, particle size, chemical composition, and stability, thus allowing the adsorption of a wide variety of biological macromolecules, such as heme proteins, lipases, antibody fragments, and proteases, into their structures. This Review discusses the application of ordered, large-pore, functionalized mesoporous silicates to immobilize proteins for biocatalysis.

The ever-increasing demands for clean and sustainable energy sources combined with rapid advances in bio-integrated portable or implantable electronic devices have stimulated intensive research activities in enzymatic (bio)fuel cells (EFCs). The use of renewable biocatalysts, the utilization of abundant green, safe, and high energy density fuels, together with the capability of working at modest and biocompatible conditions, make EFCs promising as next generation alternative power sources. However, the main challenges (low energy density, relatively low power density, poor operational stability and limited voltage output) hinder future applications of EFCs. This review aims at exploring the underlying mechanism of EFCs and providing possible practical strategies, methodologies and insights to tackle of these issues. Firstly, this review summarizes approaches in achieving high energy densities in EFCs, particularly, employing enzyme cascades for the deep/complete oxidation of fuels. Secondly, strategies for increasing power densities in EFCs, including increasing enzyme activities, facilitating electron transfers, employing nanomaterials, and designing more efficient enzyme-electrode interfaces, are described. The potential of EFCs/(super)capacitor combination is discussed. Thirdly, the review evaluates a range of strategies for improving the stability of EFCs, including the use of different enzyme immobilization approaches, tuning enzyme properties, designing protective matrixes, and using microbial surface displaying enzymes. Fourthly, approaches for the improvement of the cell voltage of EFCs are highlighted. Finally, future developments and a prospective on EFCs are envisioned.

The adsorption of cytochrome c onto a range of different mesoporous silicates (MPS) was studied. The materials used, templated using both cationic and nonionic surfactants, have average pore-size diameters in the range from 28 to 130 Å. Cytochrome c was found to bind to all MPS investigated, with the pore diameter of the material, which was measured by N 2 gas adsorption, being crucial to mesopore penetration. The adsorption of a range of proteins with isoelectric points between 1 and 10 was investigated. For adsorption to occur, the surface charges of the protein and of the MPS must be complementary, in addition to the requirement that the pore diameter be sufficiently large. Pepsin at pH 6.5, for example, is negatively charged and does not adsorb onto cyano-modified silicate whereas subtilisin, which is of a similar size and bears an overall positive charge, is adsorbed. Using resonance Raman spectroscopy, cytochrome c was observed to occur in both high spin and low spin states, in contrast to that in solution, where the protein is predominantly in the low spin state. The presence of the high spin state may account for the enhanced peroxidative activity of the adsorbed protein.

Mesoproous silicates (MPS) are attractive materials for the immobilisation of enzymes. They possess 5 ordered pore structures, narrow pore size distributions, large surface areas, high stability and can be chemically modified with various functional groups. The properties of MPS materials are reviewed in terms of their ability to act as supports for enzymes for use in biocatalysis with a particular focus on the ability to tailor the surface functionalization of the MPS to suit a specific enzyme. While many reports of the immobilisation of enzymes on MPS have been described, their use as biocatalytic supports is limited. 10Large scale reactors based on MPS will require continuous flow systems where the properties of the support can be tailored while allowing fluid flow at reasonable low pressure.

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Cytochrome c and xylanase were adsorbed onto two mesoporous materials, SBA-15 (a pure silicate) and MSE (an organosilicate), with very similar physical properties but differing chemical compositions. A methodical order was developed whereby the influences of surface area, pore size, extent of order, particle size, surface potentials, isoelectric points, pH, and ionic strength on immobilization were explored. In silico studies of cytochrome c and xylanase were conducted before any immobilization experiments were carried out in order to select compatible materials and probe the interactions between the adsorbents and the mesoporous silicates. The stabilities of the mesoporous materials at different pH values and their isoelectric points and zeta potentials were determined. Electrostatic attraction dominated protein interactions with SBA-15, while weaker hydrophobic interactions are more prominent with MSE for both cytochrome c and xylanase. The ability of the immobilized protein/enzyme to withstand leaching was measured, and activity tests and thermostability experiments were conducted. Cytochrome c immobilized onto SBA-15 showed resistance to leaching and an enhanced activity compared to free protein. The immobilized cytochrome c was shown to have higher intrinsic activity but lower thermostability than free cytochrome c. From an extensive characterization of the surface properties of the silicates and proteins, we describe a systematic methodology for the adsorption of proteins onto mesoporous silicates. This approach can be utilized in the design of a solid support for any protein.

ABSTRACT. The high surface areas of nanostructured electrodes can provide for significantly enhanced surface loadings of electroactive materials. The fabrication and characterisation of nanoporous gold (np-Au) substrates as electrodes for bioelectrochemical applications is described.Robust np-Au electrodes were prepared by sputtering a gold-silver alloy onto a glass support and subsequent de-alloying of the silver component. Alloy layers were prepared with either a uniform or non-uniform distribution of silver and, post de-alloying, showed clear differences in morphology on characterisation with scanning electron microscopy. Redox reactions under kinetic control, in particular measurement of the charge required to strip a gold oxide layer, provided the most accurate measurements of the total electrochemically addressable electrode surface area, A real .Values of A real up to 28 times that of the geometric electrode surface area, A geo , were obtained. For diffusion controlled reactions overlapping diffusion zones between adjacent nanopores established limiting semi-infinite linear diffusion fields where the maximum current density was dependent on A geo . The importance of measuring the surface area available for the immobilisation was determined 2 using the redox protein, cyt c. The area accessible to modification by a biological macromolecule, A macro , such as cyt c was reduced by up to 40 % compared to A real , demonstrating that the confines of some nanopores were inaccessible to large macromolecules due to steric hindrances. Preliminary studies on the preparation of np-Au electrodes modified with osmium redox polymer hydrogels and Myrothecium verrucaria bilirubin oxidase (MvBOD) as a biocathode were performed; current densities of 500 A cm -2 were obtained in unstirred solutions.