Chemical Attachment of Organometallics to Proteins in Reverse Micelles

For the construction of new biocatalysts it might be necessary to attach a water-insoluble organometallic residue covalently to a soluble enzyme. Reverse micelles—“microreactors” with a polar center and a nonpolar shell—can achieve this, as shown by the covalent binding of carboxyferrocene (FcCOOH) to glucose oxidase (ENH2) in the presence of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide/N-hydroxysuccinimide as activating couple [Eq. (a)] in a system containing borate buffer, n-octane, aerosol OT, and acetonitrile.