Encapsulation of enzymes in mesoporous host materials via the nonsurfactant-templated sol-gel process

A new, simple, one-step method for enzyme immobilization is demonstrated wi th encapsulating alkaline phosphatase in mesoporous sol-gel silica. Since t he pore size (e.g., similar to 30 Angstrom) of the mesoporous silica is muc h greater than that (e.g., similar to 15 Angstrom) in traditional microporo us sol-gel silica, enzymatic activity is increased by a factor of 2 to 10 b ecause of easy diffusion of the substrate molecules. Compared to macroporou s materials, the channel is narrow enough to prevent the enzyme from leakin g out of its cage. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.