Potential applications of viable, immobilized fungal cell systems.

Immobilized cell technology attracts considerable attention because of the many advantages it offers over conventional suspended-cell fermentations. Important advances continue to be made in the potential use of immobilized cells as biocatalysts. This review is mainly devoted to the analysis of recent literature on the applications of immobilized fungal cell systems, ranging from the production or transformation of useful compounds (e.g. organic acids, enzymes, antibiotics, steroids, etc.) to wastewater treatment. The problems and future industrial applications are also discussed.