Engineering functional support materials for Enzyme immobilization: Technologies, performance and industrial relevance

Enzyme immobilization is a key enabling strategy in biocatalytic process engineering, allowing improvements in catalyst stability, reusability, and operational performance under industrial conditions. Among the parameters governing immobilization efficiency, the engineering of support materials plays a decisive role, directly influencing enzyme–support interactions, mass transfer, recovery, and process scalability. This study provides a comprehensive and technology-oriented assessment of functional materials employed as enzyme supports, emphasizing polymeric, inorganic, hybrid, and nanostructured systems, as well as surface functionalization strategies designed to enhance biocatalyst performance. By systematically analyzing research trends over the last two decades, this work identifies the most relevant material classes, functional groups, and immobilization approaches that have driven advances in industrial biocatalysis. The results highlight a clear transition from conventional carriers toward multifunctional and hybrid materials engineered to meet process requirements such as thermal stability, solvent tolerance, and continuous operation. Furthermore, the growing integration of sustainable materials and process-driven design principles reflects the increasing alignment between enzyme immobilization and green chemical engineering. Overall, this study positions materials engineering as a central factor in the development of efficient and scalable immobilized enzyme systems, providing strategic insights for future research and industrial implementation. • Materials engineering governs stability, reusability, and performance of immobilized enzymes. • Functional polymeric, inorganic, and hybrid supports dominate enzyme immobilization systems. • Surface functionalization is key to controlling enzyme–support interactions. • Hybrid and nanostructured materials enable process-oriented biocatalyst design. • Sustainable supports drive scalable and green industrial biocatalysis.