We report on fabrication and characterization methods for immobilizing catalytic palladium nanoparticles on aluminum and glass surfaces for catalytic conversion of biorenewables to chemicals in microfluidic reactors. D-biotin was used as the surfactant in the production of palladium nanoparticles from palladium acetate precursors. The size and distribution of nanoparticles on the surface and in solution were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS), respectively. TEM images showed that biotinylated palladium nanoparticles were homogeneous, monodisperse, and 3 to 4 nm in diameter. Two schemes were used to immobilize biotinylated palladium nanoparticles (BPN) on the surfaces: direct method and indirect method. In the direct method, aluminum and glass surfaces were modified by 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane to form a primary amine-terminated layer. Immobilization of biotinylated palladium nanoparticles was then achieved by the formation of covalent amide bonds between activated biotin and the amino functional groups on the surface1. The extent of immobilization of biotinylated nanoparticles on the surface was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to detect the existence of elemental palladium and its percentage on the surface. In the indirect method, the biological conjugation of biotin to avidin/streptavidin was exploited to immobilize biotinylated nanoparticles on the surface2. The surfaces were modified in the same way as in the direct method, followed by biotinylation to form a layer of biotin, addition of a layer of avidin/streptavidin, and finally a layer of BPN. The result was a “sandwich” interconnected by the strong biotin-avidin conjugation. The complexation of fluorescence labeled avidin/streptavidin to the BPN layer allowed us to use fluorescence microscopy to assess the extent of immobilization. In this talk, we will compare the relative merits of the two methods in their capacity for immobilization of BNP on surface, the robustness of the resulting complex, and extent of hydrogenation reactions achieved by the two schemes.