Oxidation Catalysis by Enzymes in Microemulsions

• Published in: Catalysts Vol. 7; no. 2; p. 52
• Main Authors: Evgenia Mitsou, Aristotelis Xenakis, Maria Zoumpanioti
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 08-02-2017
• Subjects: biocatalysis; cholesterol oxidase; dehydrogenases; detergentless microemulsions; heme peroxidases; liquid oxidations; phenoloxidases
• ISSN: 2073-4344
• DOI: 10.3390/catal7020052

Microemulsions are regarded as “the ultimate enzyme microreactors” for liquid oxidations. Their structure, composed of water nanodroplets dispersed in a non-polar medium, provides several benefits for their use as media for enzymatic transformations. They have the ability to overcome the solubility limitations of hydrophobic substrates, enhance the enzymatic activity (superactivity phenomenon) and stability, while providing an interface for surface-active enzymes. Of particular interest is the use of such systems to study biotransformations catalyzed by oxidative enzymes. Nanodispersed biocatalytic media are perfect hosts for liquid oxidation reactions catalyzed by many enzymes such as heme peroxidases, phenoloxidases, cholesterol oxidase, and dehydrogenases. The system’s composition and structural properties are important for better understanding of nanodispersion-biocatalyst interactions.