Preparation and applications of dendronized polymer-enzyme conjugates
Enzymes are catalytically active globular proteins, which promote chemical reactions in all living systems and which are used in many industrial processes (e.g. for softening fabrics) in household products (e.g. as additives in laundry detergents), as well as for organic synthesis and analytical applications (e.g. for blood glucose determinations).
For a number of applications enzymes are stabilized through a modification of their surface, or the enzymes are immobilized on a solid support. One recently developed method for the immobilization of enzymes on silicate surfaces is based on the preparation of conjugates between a synthetic dendronized polymer and the enzymes of interest. The principle of this method will be described and illustrated with selected examples.