β-glucosidase from Streptomyces griseus: Ester hydrolysis and alkyl glucoside synthesis in the presence of Deep Eutectic Solvents

Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES) are ionic liquid analogs that have attracted considerable attention as green solvents for biocatalytic transformations. The use of DES as part of a ‘solvent engineering’ approach to enhance enzyme stability holds great promise since they are biodegradable, relatively inexpensive and environmentally safe media for enzyme reactions. However, the behaviour of specific enzymes in such solvents is complex; some enzymes are inhibited in DES, while others appear to be activated.