Yes! Enzyme it is……….

My connect with the world of enzymes started during my Biochemistry graduation days learning about enzymes, enzyme kinetics, enzyme inhibition (competitive, uncompetitive, non-competitive) etc. 

Little did I know that enzymes would play such a diverse role in today’s society! Enzymes and their applications can be found in a variety of industries and are steadily increasing. Paper & pulp, leather, detergents, fuel production, food & feed, waste management, chemical industry, textile, pharma etc. are now using enzymes in a massive manner. At present, almost 4000 enzymes are known, and of these, approximately 200 microbial original types are used commercially. 

The advancement in biotechnology especially in the field of genomics and protein engineering, have opened new vistas of enzyme applications and are experiencing major R&D initiatives resulting in not only development of new and novel products but also improvement in process performance. Eg. Oxidation resistant alpha amylase (Duramyl, Novo Nordisk), oxidation resistant protease (Everlase, Novo Nordisk) are providing newer applications for the enzyme processes.

Enzymes due to their property of stereo-selectivity, chemo and region-selectivity have found tremendous usage in the production of important drugs. Along with the above mentioned properties, the enzymes also display mild reaction conditions, have fewer side reactions, high efficiency and are environmental friendly. These lead to overall lower cost of production for the industry. In pharma and medicine, apart from their usage in drug production, enzymes are also used as analytical tools (glucose oxidase – blood sugar, uricase – uric acid detection), therapeutic agents (asparaginase – leukemia, collagenase – skin cancer or as enzyme replacement therapies – Ceredase, Genzyme corp. for Gaucher’s disease).

The enzymes are also playing a major role in biofuel industry. Green and clean energy is the motto of today’s policy makers. Recently, Novozymes (World’s largest enzyme manufacturer) along with Beta Renewables, a cellulosic biofuels company, have opened the world’s first commercial-scale refinery to produce bioethanol from agricultural residues and energy crops (http://ens-newswire.com/2013/10/14/worlds-first-refinery-turning-farm-waste-to-bioethanol-opens/)

The field of enzymes is fascinating as well as challenging. With proper Government policy and investments this industry can progress and make mankind live a healthier, cleaner and happier life!