Catalysis by Enzymes Entrapped in Hydrated Surfactant Aggregates Having Various Structures in Organic Solvents

Biological membranes function as a versatile regulator of biocatalytic processes in the cell by influencing properties of intracellular enzymes. The investigation of the enzyme regulation by the variation of the lipid matrix represents an important problem of membrane enzymology. One of the most fruitful approaches that can be employed to solve this problem is based on the use of ternary systems surfactant-water-organic solvent which can successfully imitate lipid polymorphism in biological membranes. The geometric complementarity between entrapped enzyme molecules and aqueous cavities of surfactant aggregates is attributable to the universal principle of regulation of catalytic activity of enzymes incorporated in different structures existing in ternary systems surfactant-water-organic solvent. Surfactant aggregates ensure a strict nanocompartmentalization of solubilized macromolecules, thus permitting a controlled buildup of supramolecular structures, including conjugates of natural and synthetic macromolecules of a predetermined composition.