Pickering-Droplet-Derived MOF Microreactors for Continuous-Flow Biocatalysis with Size Selectivity

Enzymatic microarchitectures with spatially controlled reactivity, engineered molecular sieving ability, favorable interior environment, and industrial productivity show great potential in synthetic protocellular systems and practical biotechnology, but their construction remains a significant challenge. Here, we proposed a Pickering emulsion interface-directed synthesis method to fabricate such a microreactor, in which a robust and defect-free MOF layer was grown around silica emulsifier stabilized droplet surfaces. The compartmentalized interior droplets can provide a biomimetic microenvironment to host free enzymes, while the outer MOF layer secludes active species from the surroundings and endows the microreactor with size-selective permeability. Impressively, the thus-designed enzymatic microreactor exhibited excellent size selectivity and long-term stability, as demonstrated by a 1000 h continuous-flow reaction, while affording completely equal enantioselectivities to the free enzyme counterpart. Moreover, the catalytic efficiency of such enzymatic microreactors was conveniently regulated through engineering of the type or thickness of the outer MOF layer or interior environments for the enzymes, highlighting their superior customized specialties. This study provides new opportunities in designing MOF-based artificial cellular microreactors for practical applications.