An overview on immobilization techniques of lipase

The enzyme lipase has a wide range of applications in the food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical as well as oleochemical industries. The capability of enzyme lipase to catalyse reaction with higher efficiency and stability, their chemo-, regio- and enantioselectivity properties as well as their eco-friendly characteristic as compared to conventional chemical catalyst, resulted in their high demand worldwide. Nevertheless, harsh reaction condition employed in industrial processes destabilizes the enzyme lipase and thereby shortening their industrial lifespan, rendering the widespread use of this enzyme. Nevertheless, the advancement in enzyme immobilization technology offers an effective means to circumvent the aforementioned concerns. Immobilization is capable of enhancing enzyme catalytic properties, simplifying downstream processing and improving the operational stability. Today, there are several techniques that have been developed and employed to immobilize the enzyme lipase onto solid support. The methods range from the reversible physical absorption and ionic linkage to the irreversible stable covalent bond. The present review therefore focuses on the recent developments on the approaches used for immobilizing lipase besides revealing their respective advantages and disadvantages.