Fig. 1.

Illustration of the influence of adsorption on the bioactive state of an enzyme. (a) The enzyme in its native-state structure in solution, and (b) when adsorbed with its bioactive site accessible and conformationally intact, thus providing native-state-like bioactivity. (c) Enzyme adsorbed with its bioactive site sterically blocked by the surface, thus inhibiting substrate binding with subsequent loss in bioactivity due to adsorbed orientation. (d) Enzyme adsorbed with its bioactive site accessible but conformationally distorted with subsequent loss in bioactivity due to structural changes of the bioactive site. Reproduced with permission from R. A. Latour, Colloids Surf., B 124, 25 (2014). Copyright 2014 Elsevier.