The application of enzymes in Industry and Medicine.

Authors Avatar

THE APPLICATION OF ENZYMES IN INDUSTRY AND MEDICINE

   Enzymes are biological catalysts that lower the activation energy for a reaction to take place.  Enzymes have many advantageous qualities that allow them to be used in industry and medicine:

  • Enzymes are not used up in reactions; each molecule repeatedly carries out the same process.  This makes enzyme technology very efficient as enzymes can be reused.
  • They have specificity.  One type of enzyme will decompose one substrate into a particular product therefore there is no wastage of resources.
  • Enzymes are biodegradable; therefore there is little pollution in this industry.
  • Enzymes function at moderate temperatures, pressure and pH so energy is saved.

   Until recently most biotechnology involved whole organisms therefore many enzyme pathways were involved but now isolated enzymes can be used.  There is still a lot of biotechnology taking place using whole organisms though e.g. yeast used in baking and alcohol production.

   When whole organisms are used in industrial methods, some of the substrate is converted to biomass for growth of the organism, but in usage of isolated enzymes there isn’t a waste of substrate.  Industry cannot afford wastefulness.  Also, in using a single enzyme, no other reactions other than the necessary one can take place and the conditions specified for the necessary reaction can be provided easily without affecting the rest of the organism.  In the extraction process it will also be easier to isolate the single product formed if the enzyme is extra-cellular.  The enzymes simply need to be filtered off and the product will be ready for use.

Join now!

   In some cases, micro-organisms are preferred as the source of enzymes.  They have many advantages:

  • They produce more enzyme molecules in relation to their mass than other organisms.
  • The yield can be increased by means of strain selection, mutation and optimisation of growth conditions.
  • They can be grown in laboratories and are not influenced by climate.
  • They occupy a great variety of habitats and extremes of pH and temperature.

   In using micro-organisms several factors have to be considered.  Nutritional requirements must be simple, they must not produce toxins, they must not be pathogenic ...

This is a preview of the whole essay