Optimization of Enzymes

This chapter describes the strategies for the optimization of enzymes for industrial applications using protein engineering methods. Firstly, the two main concepts—rational protein design and directed evolution—are introduced and the major differences are explained. Molecular biology methods for generating mutant libraries by site-directed mutagenesis or random mutagenesis techniques are described, as well as concepts for screening or selection to identify the desired enzyme variants. Lastly, successful first and recent examples of optimized biocatalysts are given.