Poly(vinyl acetate-acrylamide) microspheres were synthesized in the absence or presence of isooctane via suspension polymerization and utilized as carriers to immobilize Candida rugosa lipase. When the hydrophobic/hydrophilic surface characteristics of the microspheres were modified by changing the ratio of vinyl acetate (hydrophobic monomer) to acrylamide (hydrophilic monomer) from 50:50 to 86:24, the immobilization ratio changed from 45% to 92% and the activity of the immobilized lipase increased from 202.5 to 598.0 U/g microsphere. Excessive lipase loading caused intermolecular steric hindrance, which resulted in a decline in lipase activity. The maximum specific activity of the immobilized lipase (4.65 U/mg lipase) was higher than that of free lipase (3.00 U/mg lipase), indicating a high activity recovery during immobilization. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.