A Comprehensive Review of the Covalent Immobilization of Biomolecules onto Electrospun Nanofibers

Biomolecule immobilization has attracted the attention of various fields such as fine chemistry and biomedicine for their use in several applications such as wastewater, immunosensors, biofuels, et cetera. The performance of immobilized biomolecules depends on the substrate and the immobilization method utilized. Electrospun nanofibers act as an excellent substrate for immobilization due to their large surface area to volume ratio and interconnectivity. While biomolecules can be immobilized using adsorption and encapsulation, covalent immobilization offers a way to permanently fix the material to the fiber surface resulting in high efficiency, good specificity, and excellent stability. This review aims to highlight the various covalent immobilization techniques being utilized and their benefits and drawbacks. These methods typically fall into two categories: (1) direct immobilization and (2) use of crosslinkers. Direct immobilization techniques are usually simple and utilize the strong electrophilic functional groups on the nanofiber. While crosslinkers are used as an intermediary between the nanofiber substrate and the biomolecule, with some crosslinkers being present in the final product and others simply facilitating the reactions. We aim to provide an explanation of each immobilization technique, biomolecules commonly paired with said technique and the benefit of immobilization over the free biomolecule.