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Enzymes typically constitute a significant operational cost for industrial processes, and in many cases, must be recovered and reused to ensure economic feasibility of a process. Although some biocatalytic processes operate using organic solvents, the majority of processes occur in aqueous environments, improving the ease of separation. [1]
Some enzymes are used commercially, for example, in the synthesis of antibiotics. Some household products use enzymes to speed up chemical reactions: enzymes in biological washing powders break down protein, starch or fat stains on clothes, and enzymes in meat tenderizer break down proteins into smaller molecules, making the meat easier to chew.
This has enabled the development of enzymes that can catalyze novel small molecule transformations that may be difficult or impossible using classical synthetic organic chemistry. Utilizing natural or modified enzymes to perform organic synthesis is termed chemoenzymatic synthesis ; the reactions performed by the enzyme are classified as ...
The development of fermentation processes, microbial strain engineering and recombinant gene technologies has enabled the commercialization of a wide range of enzymes. Enzymes are used in all kinds of industrial segments, such as food (lactose removal, cheese flavor), beverage (juice treatment), baking (bread softness, dough conditioning ...
Biotransformation is the biochemical modification of one chemical compound or a mixture of chemical compounds. Biotransformations can be conducted with whole cells, their lysates, or purified enzymes. [1] Increasingly, biotransformations are effected with purified enzymes. Major industries and life-saving technologies depend on biotransformations.
Enzymes often also incorporate non-protein components, such as metal ions or specialized organic molecules known as cofactor (e.g. adenosine triphosphate). Many cofactors are vitamins, and their role as vitamins is directly linked to their use in the catalysis of biological process within metabolism.
The use of cross-linked enzyme crystals (CLECs) as industrial biocatalysts was pioneered by Altus Biologics in the 1990s. CLECs proved to be significantly more stable to denaturation by heat, organic solvents and proteolysis than the corresponding soluble enzyme or lyophilized (freeze-dried) powder. CLECs are robust, highly active immobilized ...
The term is used almost exclusively to describe solutions and implies catalysis by organometallic compounds. Homogeneous catalysis is an established technology that continues to evolve. An illustrative major application is the production of acetic acid. Enzymes are examples of homogeneous catalysts. [2]