The purified lipase from Pseudomonas cepacia (PS, Amano) was immobilized on a commercially available microporous polypropylene support. The enzyme was rapidly and completely adsorbed on the support. Special attention was devoted to the demonstration of the lack of diffusional limitations, either internal or external, when a soluble substrate (p-nitrophenylacetate, pNPA) was used. The activity yield was high (100%) with pNPA and very low (0.4%) with p-nitrophenylpalmitate (pNPP). These values clearly showed that the immobilized enzyme was fully active as soon as activity was assayed on a soluble substrate rather than an insoluble one. With the latter one, the low activity was due mainly to a slow rate of substrate diffusion inside the porous support. The same diffusional phenomenon could explain the complete change of fatty acid specificity of the immobilized lipase. After immobilization, the lipase was mainly specific for short chain fatty acid esters, whereas the free enzyme was mainly specific for long chain esters. The activity-versus-temperature profiles were not greatly affected by immobilization with maximal reaction rates in the range 45 degrees to 50 degrees C for both enzyme preparations. However, immobilization increased enzyme stability mainly by decreasing the sensitivity to temperature of the inactivation reaction. Half-lives at 80 degrees C were 11 and 4 min for the immobilized and free enzymes, respectively.