The reaction and diffusion of small molecules is used to initiate the formation of protective polymeric layers, or biofilms, that attach cells to surfaces. Here, inspired by biofilm formation, we present a general method for the growth of hydrogels from urease enzyme-particles by combining production of ammonia with a pH-regulated polymerization reaction in solution. We show through experiments and simulations how the propagating basic front and thiol-acrylate polymerization were continuously maintained by the localized urease reaction in the presence of urea, resulting in hydrogel layers around the enzyme particles at surfaces, interfaces or in motion. The hydrogels adhere the enzyme-particles to surfaces and have a tunable growth rate of the order of 10 µm min⁻¹ that depends on the size and spatial distribution of particles. This approach can be exploited to create enzyme-hydrogels or chemically patterned coatings for applications in biocatalytic flow reactors.

小分子的反应和扩散用于启动保护性聚合物层或生物膜的形成，将细胞附着在表面。在这里，受生物膜形成的启发，我们提出了一种通过将氨的产生与溶液中 pH 调节的聚合反应相结合，从脲酶颗粒生长水凝胶的一般方法。我们通过实验和模拟展示了在尿素存在的情况下，局部脲酶反应如何持续维持碱性前沿聚合和硫醇-丙烯酸酯聚合，从而在表面、界面或运动中的酶颗粒周围形成水凝胶层。水凝胶将酶颗粒粘附到表面并具有 10 µm min ^{−1数量级的可调生长速率}这取决于粒子的大小和空间分布。这种方法可用于制造酶水凝胶或化学图案化涂层，用于生物催化流动反应器中的应用。