Zsófia Bognár

Bio

Dr. Zsófia Bognár earned her degree in chemical engineering from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, where she also completed her PhD at the Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry. Her doctoral research focused on developing synthetic receptors and labels for chemical sensing. In 2023, she joined the Center for Visualizing Catalytic Processes (VISION) at the Technical University of Denmark as a Postdoctoral Researcher. There, she contributed to the Biocatalyst Interactions with Gases (BIG) Collaboration, pioneering new biology-based methods for carbon dioxide management and sustainable fertilizer production. In 2024, Zsófia was awarded the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (MSCA-PF) for her project titled “Lipase Immobilization for Microscopic Investigation of Enzyme Activity (lipaseTEM).” Her primary research focus is on developing advanced techniques for visualizing catalytic processes using transmission electron microscopy and fluorescence microscopy. Zsófia’s work aims to enhance our understanding of enzyme activity at the microscopic level, driving innovations in sustainable biocatalysis.

Area(s) of Expertise

Title: High resolution imaging of immobilized enzyme systems

Abstract:

Immobilized enzyme systems are attracting interest for biocatalytic flow processes. (1,2) While the catalytic performance are expected to depend on the enzyme distribution, orientation and anchoring on the support material, detailed understanding is often limited reflecting a lack of nanoscale visualization. (3) Here, we combine transmission electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy to investigate enzymes at high spatial and temporal resolution. Specifically, we focus on carbonic anhydrase and lipase, immobilized on different high-surface-area-supports such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and carbon nanotubes. (4) The combined imaging approach uncovers the spatial arrangement, quantifies their coverage on the support surface, and measures local catalytic activity of the immobilized enzymes.
The high spatiotemporal resolution insight establishes unambiguous dispersion-activity relations in heterogeneously loaded enzyme system and demonstrates, in turn, how local confinement collectively shape biocatalytic performance. Thus, the combined imaging approach enables a framework for rationally engineering immobilized enzyme systems with enhanced stability, accessibility, and functional efficiency.
The project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement (Grant no. 101152937), the Novo Nordisk Foundation through the Biocatalyst through the Biocatalyst Interactions with Gases (BIG) Collaboration (Grant no. NNF22SA0078767). DTU VISION was supported by the Danish National Research Foundation (DNRF146).

References:
1 Bolivar, J. M. et al.., Chem. Soc. Rev. 2022, 51 (15), 6251-6290
2 Fedai, M. et al., TrendsinBiotechnology, 2025, 43 (12), 3041-3055
3 Diamanti, E., et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.2024, 63 (20), e202319248
4 Deylamani S. T., et al. Nano Lett. 2025, 25 (49), 17122-17128