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Updated: Aug 6, 2026
09:42
Unraveling Entropic Rate Acceleration Induced by Solvent Dynamics in Membrane Enzymes
Published on: January 16, 2016
Biomimetic Permselective Membranes Tailoring Multidimensionally Regulated Microenvironments for Enhanced Enzyme
Ao Li1, Yibin Zhao1, Yuexin Du1
1School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, P.R. China.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|July 16, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed a biomimetic enzyme immobilization strategy using hollow microspheres with permselective membranes. This approach enhances cascade reaction efficiency by regulating mass transfer and promoting enzyme self-assembly.
Area of Science:
- Biomimetic chemistry
- Materials science
- Chemical engineering
Background:
- Multienzyme cascade systems suffer from low efficiency due to substrate and intermediate diffusion in solution.
- Cellular compartments and membranes regulate transport, inspiring biomimetic approaches.
- Enzyme immobilization is key to improving catalytic efficiency and stability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design a biomimetic enzyme immobilization strategy using hollow microspheres with permselective membranes.
- To regulate mass transfer and create an efficient reaction microenvironment for enzyme cascades.
- To enhance cascade activity through self-assembly of compartmentalized microspheres.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of hollow microspheres with multidimensionally permselective polyelectrolyte membranes.
- Utilizing charged polyelectrolytes to create dynamic soft interfaces for transport regulation.
- Demonstrating a three-enzyme cascade reaction with surface charge tuning for self-assembly.
Main Results:
- The permselective membrane effectively regulated mass transfer and sustained an efficient reaction microenvironment.
- Tuning the surface charge of microspheres induced self-assembly, reducing intermediate diffusion distances.
- Cascade activity was significantly enhanced due to proximity-enhanced assembly of enzymes.
Conclusions:
- The developed membrane-mimetic design strategy provides a modular platform for biomimetic catalytic systems.
- Polyelectrolyte soft interfaces offer a versatile approach for enzyme immobilization and microenvironment control.
- This work offers insights for engineering multicompartmental artificial cells and advanced catalytic systems.
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