Biomaterial-based nanoreactors, an alternative for enzyme delivery

Abstract

Application of nanotechnology is making huge progress in the biomedical and environmental fields. The design and production of nanoreactors based on the combination of catalytic properties of enzymes and the unique characteristics of nano-sized materials is, certainly, an opportunity to solve different challenges in biomedical and environmental fields. Most of the research efforts to combine enzymes and nanostructured materials have been made using ceramic, metallic, or carbon-based materials. Nevertheless, biomaterials, or materials from biological origin, have two main advantages for biomedical and environmental applications when compared with non-biological nanomaterials; they are biocompatible and biodegradable materials. In this work, a critical review of the literature information on nanostructured biomaterials for enzyme delivery is shown.

Keywords

• biopolymers
• liposomes
• nanomedicine
• therapeutic enzymes
• virus-like particles