Abstract
Enzymes are proteins that efficiently catalyze chemical reactions of specific
substrates; they are highly specific for one reaction or a class of reactions, based on the
structure of their active sites. This chapter presents the classification according to the
nature of the reactions where enzymes are involved as biocatalysts and shows examples
of biocatalyzed chemical processes. Kinetic aspects are discussed, and the relevance of
the kinetic parameters is highlighted. Inhibitors of enzyme-mediated reactions are also
described and classified; their kinetic implications are revealed; besides, examples of
enzyme inhibition, examples of pharmacological drug-inhibition are presented. The
roles of enzyme cofactors and cosubstrates are described taking examples of biological
systems. Enzymes are also used in bioremediation processes and examples are
mentioned. Enzyme production strategies developed to enable industrial application are
presented, taking lactase as a model example; enzyme preparation, purification,
recovery, and stabilization are the key steps in their utilization. Nowadays, with the
development of genomics and proteomics, it is possible to access new enzyme
activities as well as manipulate, design and improve new and traditional enzyme
activities. Biocatalysis is a multidisciplinary area of science that is gaining increasing
interest both from a scientific point of view and for its growing industrial applications
due to its high specificity in the conversion of substrates into specific products, the
reduced volume of waste generated and the non-aggressive operating conditions.
Specifically, the enzymes’ use in pharmacological drugs synthesis is remarkably
interesting, since they allow to improve both the performance and the stereoselectivity
of the active principles.