Enzyme Engineering

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to all aspects of enzyme engineering, from fundamental principles through to the state-of-the-art in research and industrial applications. It begins with a brief history, describing the milestones of advancement in enzyme science and technology, before going on to cover the fundamentals of enzyme chemistry, the biosynthesis of enzymes and their production. Enzyme stability and the reaction kinetics during enzymatic reactions are presented to show how enzymes function during catalysis and the factors that affect their activity. Methods to improve enzyme performance are also presented, such as cofactor regeneration and enzyme immobilization. The book emphasizes and elaborates on the performance and characteristics of enzymes at the molecular level. Finally, the book presents recent advances in enzyme engineering and some key industrial application of enzymes addressing the present needs of society. This book presents essential information not only for undergraduate and graduate students, but also for researchers in academia and industry, providing a valuable reference for the development of commercial applications of enzyme technology.

This new volume of Methods in Enzymology continues the legacy of this premier serial with quality chapters authored by leaders in the field. Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors Presents the latest release in the Methods in Enzymology series

Presently, intensive and global attention is being devoted to "biotechnology"--the technology utilizing marvelous capacities of living things for human welfare. Each country is strongly promo ting its development. In particular, enzyme engineering, whose pur pose is to utilize efficiently enzymes, microorganisms, and cultured plant as well as animal cells as organic catalysts, is one of the main themes in the field of biotechnology. Under these circumstances, the Sixth Enzyme Engineering Confe rence was held at Kashikojima, Mie Prefecture, Japan from September 20 to 25, 1981, under the joint auspices of the Engineering Foun dation of New York and the Japanese Society of Enzyme Engineering. This series of international conferences has been held biannually since 1971. The first three and the fifth conferences were held in the United States and the fourth one was in the Federal Republic of Germany. This sixth conference was the first to be held in Asia; and it was significant that a number of participant£ could visit Japany, which has produced successful achievements in the field of biotechnology.

The recent worldwide explosion of interest in enzymes as cata lysts in industrial processes has arisen primarily because of the potential of major innovative advances which have taken place over the last two decades, foremost among these being novel methods of enzyme immobilization and affinity chromatography for rapid enzyme purification. This interest is now being further stimulated by the remarkable commercial success of several enzyme-based industrial processes, particularly the production of high-fructose syrup in the U. S. and amino acid production in Japan. With the initiation of these and other processes, together with the readying for commercial ization of several other enzyme-based operations, interest has ex panded in other areas in which enzymes may playa useful role, particularly in medicine and analytical chemistry. The development of this technology has required the cooperative efforts of practi tioners of several disciplines, primarily chemical engineers, bio chemists and other life scientists. Indeed, from this cooperation is arising the new interdisciplinary field of Enzyme Engineering. To stimulate communication, information exchange and advance ment of knowledge in this new field on an international level the Engineering Foundation, through the efforts of Lemuel B. Wingard, Jr. , initiated in 1971 a series of international conferences on Enzyme Engineering to be held biannually. The first two conferences were held in Henniker, New Hampshire, in the summers of 1971 and 1973, respectively, while the third conference, from which these proceedings derived, was held in August 1975 in Portland, Oregon.

The Soviet Union has had an active research and development program in the study and applica tion of soluble and immobilized enzymes since about 1970. Therefore, it was a natural conse quence that an international conference should be held in the Soviet Union to focus on some of the developments that may lead to new and exciting practical applications of enzymatic catalysts in a variety of areas, especially carbohydrate con versions, medicine, energy transduction, and photochemistry. The International Federation of Institutes for Advanced Study, with its goal of focusing international scientific and technological exper tise on world problems, also has been very active in the area of enzyme engineering, with a major effort during 1972-1977 in several of the sub areas covered in this volume. The conference was held June 20-24, 1978 in the city of Tbilisi in the Georgian SSR of the USSR, under the title "The Future of Enzyme En gineering Development." The participants expressed a high sense of gratitude to the State Committee for Science and Technology and especially to the Georgian Academy of Sciences for their hospitality. The services of the Soviet linguists in providing simultaneous translation between Russian and English, and the brass band that played for the departing participants at the Tbilisi airport helped to make both the scientific and cultural parts of the conference memorable.

Enzyme technology continues to maintain a high degree of interest both in the academic and industrial communities. Since the last Enzyme Engineering Conference held in Bad Neuenahr, Federal Republic of Germany, two years ago, an increasing emphasis has been placed on the study and application of immobilized whole cells and organelles. This new emphasis has been reflected in the number of presentations directed to this area. The Fifth International Enzyme Engineering Conference was held in Henniker, New Hampshire, July 29 to August 3, 1979. The organizers of this conference are especially grateful for the generous support received from a number of industrial organizations. The conference was attended by 183 participants representing over 22 countries making this truly an international conference. During this conference, emphasis was placed on a wide variety of areas including: enzyme production, energy transduction, co factor modification, biomass conversion, immobilized enzymes, cells and organelles, and enzymatic synthesis of chemicals and pharma ceuticals. This volume contains most of the presentations and posters presented at the Fifth Conference. The names of the session co chairmen, workshop chairmen, committee members and sponsoring organizations are included as an appreciation of their efforts in making this a successful conference. The preparation of this volume was carried out by the editors including editing and proofing of the individual manuscripts and the final copy of this volume. The editors are indebted to Ms. S.

Enzyme Engineering An authoritative and up-to-date discussion of enzyme engineering and its applications In Enzyme Engineering: Selective Catalysts for Applications in Biotechnology, Organic Chemistry, and Life Science, a team of distinguished researchers deliver a robust treatment of enzyme engineering and its applications in various fields such as biotechnology, life science, and synthesis. The book begins with an introduction to different protein engineering techniques, covers topics like gene mutagenesis methods for directed evolution and rational enzyme design. It includes industrial case studies of enzyme engineering with a focus on selectivity and activity. The authors also discuss new and innovative areas in the field, involving machine learning and artificial intelligence. It offers several insightful perspectives on the future of this work. Readers will also find: A thorough introduction to directed evolution and rational design as protein engineering techniques Comprehensive explorations of screening and selection techniques, gene mutagenesis methods in directed evolution, and guidelines for applying gene mutagenesis in organic chemistry, pharmaceutical applications, and biotechnology Practical discussions of protein engineering of enzyme robustness relevant to organic and pharmaceutical chemistry Treatments of artificial enzymes as promiscuous catalysts Various lessons learned from semi-rational and rational directed evolution A transdisciplinary treatise, Enzyme Engineering: Selective Catalysts for Applications in Biotechnology, Organic Chemistry, and Life Science is perfect for protein engineers, theoreticians, organic, and pharmaceutical chemists as well as transition metal researchers in catalysis and biotechnologists.

The unique catalytic properties of enzymes and the numerous techniques for immobilization of enzymes and cells continue to maintain a high degree of practical and scientific interest in this area called Enzyme Engineering. This fourth International Enzyme Engineering Confer ence was the first to be held outside of the United States. Europe was chosen as the site primarily to en able greater participation by investigators from that continent. The Engineering Foundation of New York, which was the principal sponsor of the first three conferences, was most fortunate in having the DECHEMA (Deutsche Gesell schaft fur chemisches Apparatewesen e. V.) of Frankfurt (Main), F. R. Germany as the cosponsor for this fourth conference. The success of the conference also was due in large part to the generous financial support, especially by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as by European enzyme and chemical companies. The fourth conference, held September 25-30, 1977 at Bad Neuenahr, Federal Republic of Germany was certainly successful, with 240 participants from 23 countries, repre senting many academic disciplines and occupational special ties. At this conference special emphasis was placed on the immobilization of whole cells and organelles, medical applications of immobilized enzymes and organelles, and the industrial status and future for immobilized biological materials.