Enzyme inhibitors play a pivotal role in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. The primary understanding of the action of inhibitors helps pharmacologists during the design process for developing new therapeutic drugs. Most drugs treat various chronic and life threatening diseases owing to their specificity and the potency of enzymes which they can inhibit. Enzyme inhibitors are used to screen various levels of diseases which propel the growth of inhibitors. The potential for enzyme inhibitors in the therapeutics market is very high as the biochemical properties and classes of enzyme inhibiting products are readily available. The other broad aspect of enzyme inhibition is their application in analytical sensors. These sensors assist in monitoring various environmental factors. Understanding the mechanism of inhibition and regeneration of enzymes is a general problem of great importance for many biochemists and biotechnologists especially when using immobilized enzymes. This reference compiles applied information about enzyme inhibitors used in medicine and environmental monitoring applications. Chapters presented in this volume cover special topics including biosensors, crop improvements in agriculture, biofuel production, pesticide and heavy metal detection, and drug therapy for human diseases such as breast cancer, neurological diseases and viral infections. The collection of topics in this volume makes it an informative resource for readers at all academic levels on the applications of enzyme inhibitors in medicine and environmental sciences.

Multidisciplinary research involving crystallography, kinetic studies, molecular docking, genetics and other techniques in biochemistry has yielded a wealth of knowledge about the reaction mechanisms in cellular processes. This knowledge has allowed researchers to understand, in a better way, the normal functioning of the cell process, which is used as a reference point for learning about and preventing or correcting pathologies that cause diseases. This enzymology reference is a thorough compendium about reaction mechanisms occurring between the major enzymes related to the biosynthetic pathways of 3 important types of biological compounds – 6-carbon carbohydrates, fatty acids and amino acids – and their substrates, cofactors and residues. Readers will gain an understanding of the interaction between substrates or ligands with specific amino acid residues in biosynthetic enzymes. This understanding builds a foundation for learning about the biochemistry of different inhibitors used in the treatment of several diseases such as cancer, infectious diseases, and metabolic syndrome alterations such as diabetes and obesity. Enzymes covered in the book include aldolases, isomerases, kinases, mutases, synthases, dehydrogenases, reductases, transferases, hydrolases, lyases among others, all of which are wide spread in biochemical transformations. This reference, with its insights on common biochemical enzymes serves as a handy guide for students, researchers and professionals involved academia or industry related to pharmaceutical development, healthcare, food chemistry and other disciplines.

Methods to Determine Enzymatic Activity is a textbook about industrial enzymes. The book features definitions, classifications and applications of selected enzymes important in industry and in biotechnological processes. Analytical methods for these enzymes are also included in the text. The main objective of this textbook is to provide readers information focused on the current analysis methods of enzymatic activity at qualitative and quantitative levels. Each chapter is about one specific enzyme and contains information about its substrate and some biochemical properties. The methodologies are presented as an experimental protocol allowing interested readers to reproduce the experimental methods detailed within the textbook. These protocols contain the principle of the technique, materials, methods, and all steps necessary for the determination of enzyme activity and interpretation of results. Each methodology is illustrated with photos and schemes for a better and clear understanding. This book, therefore, uniquely brings modern analysis techniques of industrial enzymes in a single easy to understand volume. This textbook is suitable for undergraduate enzymology courses and advanced industrial biotechnology and microbiology courses.

Ypt/Rab GTPases form the largest branch of the Ras-related small GTPase superfamily and regulate intracellular membrane trafficking in all eukaryotes. Since their discovery over two decades ago, a wealth of information has accumulated about the roles that Ypt/Rab proteins play in vesicular transport steps, including vesicle budding, movement, and fusion. In recent years, Ypt/Rab GTPases and membrane trafficking have been discovered to play an important role in other cellular processes, such as signal transduction, cell growth and differentiation. Additionally, Rab GTPases have been implicated in various human diseases, ranging from diabetes to cancer. This e-book provides a timely update on the rapidly developing field and discusses all functional aspects of Ypt/Rab GTPases. The 12 chapters cover well-characterized Ypts/Rabs involved in both exocytic and endocytic pathways as well as newly identified and uncharacterized Rab GTPases. A comprehensive picture about how each Ypt/Rab controls multiple vesicular trafficking steps via interactions with multiple effectors is conveyed to the reader’s mind. This e-book is the first ever volume focused on the Ypt/Rab GTPases and should provide a useful resource for researchers, students and teachers interested in the field.