To recognize and control ligand-receptor interactions at the interface between cells and polymer materials, we investigated a model system with an enzyme and a substrate conjugated with a biocompatible phospholipid polymer in an aqueous medium. We explored the regulation of enzyme-substrate (ES) complexation using horseradish peroxidase (HRP) as the enzyme and 4-aminoantipyrine (AAP) and 3-(p-hydroxyphenyl) propionic acid (HPPA) as substrates. The phospholipid polymer (PMBN), composed of 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine, n-butyl methacrylate, and p-nitrophenyloxycarbonyl poly(oxyethylene) methacrylate, was prepared and conjugated with AAP (PMBN-AAP conjugate). The formation and dissociation of the ES complex were investigated using capillary electrophoresis and fluorescence spectroscopy. In the chart of the capillary electrophoresis, a much longer retention time of HRP was observed in the PMBN-AAP conjugate-coated capillary compared with that in a nontreated capillary. The retention time was significantly longer in comparison with the case of a mixed solution of HRP and AAP. This result clearly shows that HRP forms an ES complex with the immobilized PMBN-AAP conjugate and that the addition of AAP to the medium inhibits the interactions between HRP and the PMBN-AAP conjugate. Though HRP forms an ES complex with both AAP and the PMBN-AAP conjugate, the ES complex with the PMBN-AAP conjugate was easily dissociated by addition of HPPA as an alternative substrate because HRP started to react with the HPPA immediately. However, the HRP that formed an ES complex with AAP fell behind in reacting with the HPPA. The activity of HRP was maintained at the initial level in the presence of the PMBN-AAP conjugate at 25degreesC for 1 week. Additionally, even under H2O2 conditions, HRP stored with the PMBN-AAP conjugate maintained 40% of the initial activity whereas HRP was deactivated within 6 h. This result indicates that the PMBN-AAP conjugate could block the active sites by formation of an ES complex. This is due to the formation of the ES complex, which retained the structure of HRP by blocking the active sites. On the basis of these results, we considered that the reversible attachment and detachment by PMBN conjugated with specific ligands from cellular receptors will be realized.