Amino acid-based modulation of enzyme-metal organic frameworks (MOFs) composites: A conceptual perspective

An amino acid-assisted fabrication of enzyme-MOF composites represents a novel approach for enhancing biocatalyst performance through molecular-level interactions. The flexible roles of amino acids as modulators, linkers, defect inducers, and microenvironmental regulators inside MOF systems for enzyme immobilization are extensively investigated in this review. This review examines explicitly amino acids in four key aspects: (i) modulation of MOF attributes including physico-chemical stability, surface functionalization and microenvironment, morphology, and defect engineering; (ii) enhancement of immobilized enzyme properties such as catalytic activity, stability, kinetic parameters, and reusability; (iii) their role as organic cross-linkers in univariate and multivariate amino acid-based MOFs; and (iv) mechanistic insights into nucleation, self-assembly, and enzyme-MOF interactions. Mechanistic knowledge helps define several roles that natural amino acids play in guiding MOF nucleation, fostering self-assembly, and enhancing catalytic activity. Their capacity to modify surface chemistry, maintain enzyme conformation, and increase active-site exposure is especially underlined to improve the biocatalyst's thermal, chemical, and reusability profiles. Furthermore, amino acid-mediated defect engineering of MOF can enhance pore structure and loading efficiency. Despite scattered experimental demonstrations, this review views amino acids as next-generation molecular tools for tailoring MOF-enzyme systems, providing a template for the rational construction of composites. The work concludes by identifying current limitations and outlining future opportunities in amino acid-guided bio-hybrid catalyst development for industrial biotransformation.