ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the use of liposomes as microreactors to mimic some biochemical processes in cells or membrane-bounded subcellular compartments. Liposomes are the closest approach to biomembranes and can be used for several biophysical and biochemical purposes to measure membrane permeability, to reconstruct active membrane proteins, and to study surface recognition reactions or dynamic membrane processes. The use of the liposome as a structural and/or functional biomimetic model of the cell represents in fact a consolidated trend. The theoretical model for the systems, where the enzyme is entrapped inside the liposomes, is similar to the classical model for heterogeneous chemical reactors. Carbonic anhydrase is one of the most abundant enzymes and many of its forms are present inside cells or inside cellular organelles. The process of carbon dioxide hydration by intracellular carbonic anhydrase is a typical diffusion-mediated process. The chapter highlights some biochemical processes in cells or membrane-bounded subcellular compartments in the light of the several schemata of processes.
