Reports on chemical immobilization of proteins
and enzymes first appeared ∼30 years ago. Since
then, immobilized proteins have been widely used
for the processing of a variety of products spanning industries from food to environmental con-
trol. In addition to their use in processing, immobilized proteins and enzymes have also been
found useful in many bioanalytical and biomedical applications. These applications include the
use of immobilized antibodies or antigens in bio-affinity chromatography, of immobilized receptors or ligands in the study of their interactions,and of immobilized cells in biosensors. Although
there have been a large number of articles discussing immobilization techniques of proteins
and enzymes as well as their applications in certain fields,1–3 a review on the applications of im-
mobilized proteins and enzymes in medicine and particularly during the past decade (i.e., 1990s) is
still lacking.