Advances on biocatalysis in ionic liquids

As new reaction medium,ionic liquids are viewed as one kind of the most perfect solvents in green industry of 21 century.They are non-volatile,highly polar and thermally stable.Over the past years,ionic liquids have been gained increasing attention as solvent or co-solvent for performing biocatalytic reactions with some remarkable results because of its unique properties.The compositions and properties of ionic liquids were introduced in this paper.The activity,stability and selectivity of enzyme in ionic liquids were summarized and discussed.The progress in biocatalysis by enzymes and whole cells in ionic liquids was also reviewed.At last,the problems in present researches and its further development were put forward.