Enzyme systems immobilized using metal-organic frameworks as plant cell mimics for converting CO(2) into organic matter: Feasibility, design principles and translational challenges.

MOF-based plant-cell-mimetic enzyme systems can already convert CO2 into C1 products like formate and methanol, but scaling to C2–C4 and sugars is constrained by cofactor economy and damage.

• Why it matters: Recreating chloroplast-like spatial control could enable programmable low-carbon synthesis, yet dispersed enzymes struggle with stability, transport, and coordinated energy/cofactor cycling.
• What they did: The review synthesizes evidence from enzyme–MOF biocomposites, artificial chloroplasts, synthetic carbon-fixation cycles, photoenzymatic CO2 reduction, CO2-concentrating mechanisms, and continuous-flow biocatalysis to derive pathway- and product-dependent design requirements.
• The result: Integrated proof-of-concept systems support MOF-enabled CO2-to-C1 conversion, while more complex synthesis is limited by cofactor economy, oxygen/reactive-oxygen-species damage, enzyme stoichiometry, framework stability, and product transport.

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