ABSTRACT
Enzymes are indispensable biological catalysts that play a dominant role in the biotechnology sector, having plethora of applications in the food, detergent, chemical, cosmetic, dairy, and beverages industries. The commencement of the era witnessed employment of enzymes in key segments of industrial biotechnology, among which food industry holds the second position next to the detergent industries for enzyme applications. Different classes of enzyme such as lipases, proteases, and carbohydrases find their uses in food and beverage production and processing, as a distinct set of reactions is essential. But these applications suffer because of low storage and thermal stability of enzymes, contamination of products, and lack of enzyme reusability that make the progression incongruous from the economic standpoint. Immobilization of enzymes provides a vital solution to surmount these issues. Till now, several supports have been exploited for augmenting the catalytic performance of the immobilized enzymes, but the nanomaterial has emerged as the champion among all, owing to their exceptional physicochemical attributes and perfect features to equilibrate principal factors. These attributes impel biocatalysts the effectiveness, including high enzyme loading; greater thermal, pH, and operational stability; and reduced diffusion rate. This chapter provides a descriptive and thorough evaluation of the applied trends and viewpoints concerning chief enzymes armored to nanosupports having applications in food sector. The benefits of nanomaterial over bulk support as carrier for enzymes have been discussed. Nanomaterial promises to augment the efficacy of immobilized enzymes in food-based industries in addition to other novel applications.
