THERMORESPONSIVE SOLUBILITY OF PROTEINS IN AQUEOUS AND NON-NATIVE SOLVENTS BY TUNING MOLECULAR INTERACTIONS VIA POLYMER MODIFICATION

The invention provides methods and systems by which enzymes can be modified to improve solubility, catalytic activity, recoverability, and recyclability. The enzyme may be modified with a thermosensitive copolymer to form an enzyme-polymer conjugate that exhibits upper critical solution temperature (UCST) and/or lower critical solution temperature (LCST)-type behavior in an organic solvent, ionic liquid, or other solvent. Methods and systems of the invention facilitate the use of enzymes as biocatalysts in solvents.