"Recent advances on support materials for lipase immobilization and applicability as biocatalysts in inhibitors...

With a substantial demand for new anti-obesity drugs for the treatment of obesity, screening lipase inhibitors from natural products has become a popular approach toward drug discovery. Due to the significant advantages of excellent reusability, stability and endurance in extreme pH and temperature conditions, lipase immobilization has been employed as a promising strategy to screen lipase inhibitors. Support is a key factor in the process of enzyme immobilization used to provide excellent biocompatibility, stable physical and chemical properties and abundant binding sites for enzymes. Thus, various supports, including nanofibers, polymeric monoliths, mesoporous materials, nanomaterials, membrane and cellulose paper, are systematically introduced and discussed in this review. Considering these supports, the application of the immobilization of lipase in screening compounds from natural products is also comprehensively reviewed, and the outlook for future research directions is described.