A Novel and Simple Alcohol-Free Sol−Gel Route for Encapsulation of Labile Proteins

This work presents a novel and simple aqueous sol−gel route for the encapsulation of biomolecules, which are labile to the alcohol that results as a byproduct of the matrix formation. The controlled vacuum evaporation of the alcohol by rotavapor methods provides an aqueous sol in which the activity of labile biomolecules is preserved. The versatility of this approach is remarkable since it allows the preparation of pure silica matrixes as well as ormosils.