Use of immobilized enzymes in chemical analysis

Abstract

Immobilized enzymes are becoming increasingly popular as analytical reagents because of their reusability, stability, and sensitivity to many inhibitors that would seriously interfere in assays using soluble enzymes. In this article, some of the kinetic and catalytic effects of immobilized enzymes in analysis will be discussed. The shift of the activity-pH profile curves on immobilization, the changes in temperature dependence, the inhibitor constants (K_i), Michaelis constants (K_m), and the maximum velocity ( V_max), plus others, will be discussed. Finally, the use of these immobilized enzymes in fluorometric and electrochemical monitoring systems will be shown, and the future of these reagents in various areas will be discussed. A survey of enzyme electrodes will be presented as an example of the use of immobilized enzymes. Application of immobilized enzyme technology to the assay of BUN, glucose, uric acid, amino acids, ethanol, and other metabolites will be discussed.