Protein-based scaffolds for enzyme immobilization.

Biocatalysis is emerging as an alternative approach to chemical synthesis of industrially relevant complex molecules. To obtain suitable yields of compounds in a cost-effective manner, biocatalytic reaction cascades must be efficient, robust, and self-sufficient. One approach is to immobilize biocatalysts on a solid support, stabilizing the enzymes and providing optimal microenvironments for reaction sequences.

Building a toolbox of protein scaffolds for future immobilization of biocatalysts.

Biological materials that are genetically encoded and can self-assemble offer great potential as immobilization platforms in industrial biocatalysis. Protein-based scaffolds can be used for the spatial organization of enzymes, to stabilize the catalysts and provide optimal microenvironments for reaction sequences. In our previous work, we created a protein scaffold for enzyme localization by engineering the bacterial microcompartment shell protein EutM from Salmonella enterica.