An application of novel, highly porous nonswelling resins (Synbeads) for enzymatic catalysis on solid supports is reported. These new resins combine easy handling of the beads, chemical stability, improved accessibility of proteins and higher productivity relative to swelling polymers. The present study demonstrates that the resin porosity greatly affects the efficiency in solid-phase biotransformations and that Synbead resins are valuable alternatives to swelling polymers for solid-phase chemistry and biocatalysis. The present study investigates the influence of key parameters, such as porosity and reactive functional-group density, on the reaction efficiency.

PEGA supports functionalised with permanent charges show superior swelling properties in aqueous media when compared to neutral PEGA; a novel positively charged PEGA resin significantly improves penicillin G amidase (PGA) catalysed biotransformation on solid support, by favouring accessibility of the negatively charged enzyme.

An innovative immobilisation method that allows peptide synthesis to be performed even at equimolar concentrations, by controlling water activity, is reported.

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