Enzyme engineering and the anatomy of equilibrium technology

Abstract

To talk about enzyme engineering in a context of global problems might seem easy, because the subject is so dynamic and its ramifications so numerous. One might for instance talk about the industrial use of immobilized enzymes to achieve steroid transformations suitable for large-scale production of drugs reducing fertility, or one could describe the application of the same technique for chopping off side-chains of penicillin and other antibiotics as a first step in the production of new semisynthetic drugs, that certainly have a global impact. Or it would be tempting to review the potential of enzyme engineering for synthesizing physiologically active polypeptides that find use in husbandry or medicine.