Biocatalysts (enzymes and whole cells) play a crucial role in industrial processes allowing for efficient production of many important compounds, but their use has been limited because of the considerably unstable nature of enzymes. Immobilization often
protects enzymes from environmental stresses such as pH, temperature, salts, solvents, inhibitors and poisons. Immobilization of cells containing specific enzymes has further advantages such as elimination of long and expensive procedures for enzymes separation
and purification and it is vital to expand their application by enabling easy separation and purification of products from reaction mixtures and efficient recovery of catalyst. This review focuses on organic polymers (natural and synthetic) used as matrices for immobilization
of microorganisms, mainly baker’s yeasts and potential application of immobilized cells in the chemical, pharmaceutical, biomedical and food industries
