Immobilized enzyme reactors for detection systems in high-performance liquid chromatography

The applications of immobilized-enzyme reactors (IMERs) to detection systems in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) have been reviewed. A substrate unresponsive to the detector is enzymatically converted to a highly responsive product. The main analytes detected by this system are various steroids, conjugates of various compounds, acetycholine, choline and amino acids. The repetitive use of a single batch of expensive enzyme has economic advantages. On the other hand, the organic modifier in the mobile phase exerts a considerable influence on the activity and stability of the IMER. Usually the activities of the IMER decrease after two or three months of ordinary use. These problems need to be overcome in the future. HPLC-IMER systems are being used in the field of clinical chemistry, and further applications to other fields are expected to be developed.