Use of Enzymes in Industry and Medicine

I have to investigate the uses of enzymes in industry and medicine and to indicate the advantages and disadvantages of the uses. I will explore various industrial and medical uses which will then allow me to reach a conclusion if enzymes are useful in commercial use.

What Are Enzymes?

Enzymes are produced by living cells, with each cell containing several hundred enzymes. They are very specific; they only react with one substrate. They are able to speed up the rate of chemical reactions. All enzymes are proteins and therefore have a tertiary structure. Each enzyme is a specific shape with an active site which is specific to one substrate molecule. When the active site and substrate combine then, enzyme substrate complexes are formed.

Examples of where used in industry

Enzymes have several applications in industry and medicine. Examples include: paper industry, starch industry, leather and textile industry, baking industry, beer brewing industry, detergent industry and pharmaceutical and diagnostic industry.

Paper Industry In the paper industry, wood is the main source for paper, after a process of pulping, they use ligninases to speed up removal of lignin from pulverised wood. Then amylase is used for partial breakdown of starch for sizing the paper and also to fill the gaps between fibres to produce smooth quality paper… (6) Also bleaching is made easier by an enzyme called hemicellulase instead of using chlorine which cuts down the cost of using vast amounts of chlorine be a third and also less harm is done to environment, The advantages of using enzymes in the paper industry is that they can produce quality paper faster, also a lot less energy is needed because the enzymes require less energy. There are no disadvantages for using enzymes in paper industry.

Starch Industry The starch processing industry is the second largest segment of the industrial enzyme market. In the starch industry the treatment of starch with enzymes results in sweet syrups. Three stages can be identified in the starch industry. Firstly, amylases release 'maltodextrin' by the liquidation process. These maltodextrins aren't very sweet as they contain dextrins and oligosaccharides. The dextrins and oligosaccharides are further hydrolysed by enzymes pullulanase and glycoamylase in a process called saccharification. This process converts all the limit dextrins to glucose, maltose and isomaltose. Also HFCS is manufactured from starch in corn fruits (maize). HFCS is a high fructose corn syrup and it is a sweetener which is widely used in foods and drinks. To produce the syrup grains are sent to starch slurry and the enzyme amylase is added to speed up the reaction. This then produces glucose syrup. This syrup is then passed down a column of immobilised glucose isomerase enzymes and this converts most of the glucose to fructose. Glucose and fructose have the same energy content but fructose is much sweeter so much less is needed in industry when fructose is used in their food products.(7) The advantage of using HFCS from starch is that there will be lower calories but more sweetened so less of it is needed in food. Also starch is needed in the baking industry, brewing industry so the enzyme can be bought in large quantities to be using in the different areas, also energy is saved because enzymes reduces the activation energy. There are no disadvantages.

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Leather and Textile industry Enzymes are also used in the leather and textile industry. The main applications of enzymes in the leather industry are proteases which help in dehairing of the animal hides and lipases are used for degreasing. Before harsh chemicals were used for this process, but the use of enzymes are less harsh on the fabric so it results in a quality product. In the tanning of leather industry protease is used which is obtained from dog and pigeon faeces to remove hair and make the leather pliable. This treatment is called “bating”. In the textile industry, enzymes are used for the finishing of fabric and clothes. As cellulose is the main component in cotton and other natural fibres, the application of the cellulase enzyme can remove rough protuberances giving a smoother, glossier brighter coloured fabric. This process can also be known as Biopolishing. In the denim industry by applying the enzyme cellulase onto the denim gives it a faded surface garment. This process is known as Biostoning, also enzymes such as amylase are used before weaving of threads to remove the starch that is applied to the threads of some fabrics to protect mechanical damage during weaving(7). The advantages of using enzymes are that we will get quality products in less time- seasonal sales. There are no disadvantages for using enzymes in these areas. (Aspects from 5)

Baking Industry A number of enzymes are applied in the baking industry. The wheat flour used in bread making naturally contains “occurring enzymes that modify the starch, protein and fibre fraction of the flour when water is added to the flour to make dough." () the yeast accommodates enzymes, which ferment maltose, which in turn produces carbon dioxide, making the bread rise. Enzymes play an important role in bread making. Enzymes such as xylanase (water absorption) a-amylase (freshness), protease and glucose oxidase (strengthen gluten) and lipase (controlling taste, loaf volume, crumb texture and staling properties). These enzymes are used to get continuous quality of products. Consequently correct enzymes must be used; otherwise this could have harmful effects on the dough or finished bread. An advantage of using enzymes in baking industry is that we get continuous quality of the products. There are no disadvantages in using enzymes in the baking industry.

Brewing Industry Beer brewing also involves the use of enzymes. Traditionally in beer brewing the nutrients are released from the yeast by the process of malting whereby barley is allowed to partly germinate during the which endogenous enzymes are released which degrade starch and proteins to simple sugars and amino acids which can be utilised by the yeast cells. Enzymes such as amylases, glucanases and proteases are used to speed up malting process. Enzymes aid the filtration process, because of the polysaccharides; xylans and glucans present in the final beer. This often results in slow filtration. Consequently xylanases and glucanases are added to break down the polysaccharides, therefore increasing the filtration rates. The advantages of using enzymes in the brewing industry are that it cuts down cost and easy to control. There are no disadvantages. (Aspects from 4)

Detergent Industry Enzymes are used in detergent industry; they remove proteins, starches and lipids, which can originate from blood, grass, sweat, milk etc. The main enzyme used in the detergent industry is protease, which speeds the breakdown of protein molecules. Recent developments have introduced "a cocktail of enzymes" (1) including lipases and amylases. Lipase's (breakdown of fatty substances). They hydrolyse the ester bonds in triglycerides and Amylase (breakdown of starchy deposits). The advantage of using these enzymes is that they are specific, thus removing the desired stain without damaging fabrics. Cellulases are now also used because when detergents were used "small fibres are raised from the surface of cotton thread…change in the 'feel' of the fabric…lowering of the brightness of colours." (2)Enzymes (amylase and protease) are used in dishwashing detergents as they can remove food particles. Advantages are that the clothes can be washed at a lower temperature to get rid of stains instead of washing clothes at boiling temperature which will affect the clothes in size and colours will fade. Also toughest stains can be removed. There are no disadvantages of using enzymes in detergents.

Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostic industries Enzymes are also used heavily in medicine. Enzymes have many uses in pharmaceutical and diagnostic industries. These include enzymes as direct pharmaceutical products e.g. in the treatment of genetic disorders leading to specific enzyme deficiency. Also the extraction of medically important compounds such as heparin. The manufacture of chemical pharmaceuticals where enzymes are used for the interconversion of chemical intermediates or the removal of chiral components. The applications of enzymes also allow combinatorial biocatalysts. Also research and development, especially in molecular biology where the process of nucleic acid manipulation are performed with enzymes. Enzymes can be used in analytical tests where diabetics use strips of paper impregnated with glucose oxidase to monitor their blood sugar. When blood is added to the strip the glucose oxidase metabolises the glucose to a measurable colour change to the amount of glucose in the blood. Therapeutic enzymes are used in medicines to replace enzyme deficiencies in patients. Also the enzyme protease is used in wound therapy in medicine. They are used to clean up the wound and accelerate the healing process. Enzymes can also be used in drug manufacture where the synthesis of drugs is difficult so enzymes are used to perform the chemical procedure. Enzymes can also be used to aid digestion where they are used to supplement amylase, lipase and protease produced mainly by the pancreas. An example is lactose intolerant people where they require lactose as their bodies are not producing it.

Summery: Enzymes are used in a wide variety of industries, e.g. as additives in detergents and brewing industry. They provide many advantages for different industrial processes. Enzymes have been widely used in the medicine and pharmaceuticals.

Future: Enzymes will be used further in the future as technology progresses. Also magnetic catalysts are becoming more common and scientists have come up with a idea which they are testing is how to prevent magnetic particles being destroyed by the various reactions. “This looks like a major advance for catalysis technology and could have far reaching consequences for the industry” is what is being said by experts of enzymes. (8)

Conclusion: In conclusion, it is obvious that enzymes have a wide range of uses within industry, analysis, and diagnosis and disease treatment. There are clearly more advantages of enzymes in industry than disadvantages. The unique properties of enzymes allowing them to carry out reactions at lower temperatures suitable for the human body (which is vital in all the above examples), their high specificity allowing them to locate tiny amounts of a substance in a large mixture quickly, their availability and cheapness and the fact that they are not used up within experiments make them very useful and essential in many of life's every day processes. I my opinion enzymes have been very useful in industry and medicine.

Biography

Websites - (www.enzymes.co.uk) (1)

(http://www.sbu.ac.uk/biology/enztech/detergent.html) (2) (www.bio.org/er/enzymes.asp) (3)

(www.enzymes.novo.dk/enzymes/beverage-industry.html) (4)

(www.biocon.com/html/eui/leather.htm) (5)

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