Jim Hillis wrote:
> Is immobilizing an enzyme the same as stablizing an enzyme?
> Do the two terms mean the same thing?
I've never heard of "stabilizing" enzymes, except colloquially in
the sense of stabilizing the structure against denaturation (enzyme X is
stabilized by the addition of Y mol/L of substance Z to the solution).
Note that I'm not an enzymologist by training so don't take my word for
this. If there's another technical meaning of this term, I would love
to know about it.
Immobilizing an enzyme has a specific meaning though: An
immobilized enzyme is prevented from escaping some region or
environment. Most commonly, the enzyme is bound (either physically or
chemically) to a support, but it can also mean encapsulation in porous
polymeric matrices or even just prevented from flowing through a reactor
by size-selective membranes.
Marc R. Roussel
(roussel at henri.chem.uleth.ca)
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of Lethbridge
