Biocatalysis in a confined environment. Lessons from enzymes immobilized in wet, nanoporous silica gels

The encapsulation of enzymes in wet, nanoporous silica gels is a powerful strategy to exploit the catalytic power of these sophisticated but labile biological macromolecules. The versatility of the encapsulation procedure allows to fine-tune the entrapment process for the achievement of high catalytic activity and increased stability. The co-entrapment of different enzymes and the array technology have expanded the range of applications for enzyme-doped silica gels, leading to the development of many interesting and exciting biotechnological devices, that might be further improved in the near future through nano-biotechnological methods.