Basic Concepts and Applications of Enzyme-Catalyzed Reactions for Biotechnology

Enzyme-catalyzed reactions provide several advantages such as specificity, high catalytic rate, transition state stabilization, etc., over inorganic catalysts and they have brought revolutionary changes in the synthesis of compounds at the industrial level. Enzymes are biological catalysts that are specific to the substrates and they increase the rate of reaction several folds by decreasing the activation energy. Enzyme provides an active site where the substrate/s can take a proper position and orientation to react and further stabilize the transition state favoring the reaction to proceed. Technological advancements like genetic engineering by using fungi, bacteria, and yeast, led to the development of novel enzymes possessing varied applications and specificities and they are still under exploration for new applications. Understanding the basic concepts of enzyme-catalyzed reactions can provide novel insights into the development of new strategies for designing artificial enzymes as well as the new methods for increasing the yields of enzyme-catalyzed reactions.