The aim of this work was to study the use of silicon oxide matrices for the immobilization and preservation of recombinant-protein-producing bacteria. We immobilized Escherichia coli BL21 transformants containing different expression plasmids. One contained DNA coding for a T-cell receptor beta chain, which was expressed as inclusion bodies in the cytoplasm. The other two encoded bacterial superantigens Staphylococcal Enterotoxin G and Streptococcal Superantigen, which were expressed as soluble proteins in the periplasm. The properties of immobilization and storage stability in inorganic matrices prepared from two precursors, silicon dioxide and tetraethoxysilane, were studied. Immobilized E. coli was stored in sealed tubes at 4 and 20 degrees C and the number of viable cells and level of recombinant protein production were analyzed weekly. Different tests showed that the biochemical characteristics of immobilized E. coli remained intact. At both temperatures selected, we found that the number of bacteria in silicon dioxide-derived matrix was of the same order of magnitude (10(9) cfu ml(-1)) as before immobilization, for 2 months. After 2 weeks, cells immobilized in an alkoxide-derived matrix decreased to 10(4) cfu ml(-1) at 4 degrees C, and no viable cells were detected at 20 degrees C. We found that immobilized bacteria could be used as a starter to produce recombinant proteins with yields comparable to those obtained from glycerol stocks: 15 mg l(-1) for superantigens and 2 mg l(-1) for T-cell receptor beta chain. These results contribute to the development of methods for microbial cell preservation under field conditions.