Industrial Applications of Enzymes as Catalysts

The industrial use of enzymes exploded in the late 1960s with the development of protease additives to detergents in the detergent industry and the use of a fungal glucoamylase (hydrolase) in the breakdown of starch into glucose in the food industry. This chapter describes some of the industrial-scale applications of biocatalysis. Biocatalysts have been increasingly used in the chemical industry. Regioselective catalysis using acrylamide, niacinamide and 5-cyanovaleramide have been discussed in the chapter. The hydantoin-converting pathway was optimized by adjusting expression levels of the respective enzymes and by inverting the enantioselectivity of the d-selective hydantoinase by directed evolution. Antiviral drugs includes abacavir, BMS-186318 and lobucavir have been discussed in the chapter. Ibuprofen, or 2-(4-isobutylphenyl)propionic acid, is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug that inhibits the binding of arachidonic acid to prostaglandin H2 synthase-1 and prevents the synthesis of prostaglandins acting on the inflammatory response. The enzymes can be evolved to be highly active, to be thermostable, and to have altered substrate specificity. The breadth and depth of knowledge in the biocatalysis area is undoubtedly still limited compared with traditional chemical catalysis. However, in years to come, the expanding biocatalytic and biomolecular toolbox and better understanding of enzymes and cell stability in industrial environments, such as large reactors and organic solvents, will soon make it easier to develop many more efficient industrial bioprocesses.