Viewpoints on the Application and Development of Enzymes

The modern industry's interpretation of enzymes refers to proteins with catalytic functions. Enzymes, as natural catalysts, promote various chemical reactions in cells and play a vital role in the existence of living organisms. It has been 130 to 140 years since the concept of enzyme was put forward to the mature enzyme industry. In 1897, after scientists broke the yeast wall, the extract obtained had the function of converting glucose into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Since then, people have begun to agree with the concept that "certain biological macromolecules can catalyze chemical reactions."

Compared with traditional chemical catalysis, the high efficiency and low waste of enzyme catalysis are very prominent. This is one of the reasons for the continuous rise of the enzyme industry in the past 40 years. The development of modern biotechnology is also an important driving force for the advancement of the enzyme industry. Contemporary biotechnology, such as Sequencing, Protein Engineering, Fermentation, Bioprocessing, all contribute to the development and production of more complex and efficient enzyme products. It is believed that in the near future, the enzyme industry will only continue to expand and penetrate into more areas where the traditional chemical industry is difficult to expand.

What are the enzyme-related industries now? This is summarized from a 2020 enzyme industry report:
1. Technology industry:
Washing powder manufacturing
Textile industry
Pulp Manufacturing Industry
Biofuels

2. Food manufacturing:
Dairy processing
Pastry Baking
Juice processing
Beer brewing industry
Fatty oil processing

3. Animal feed:
Fiber explanation, easy for animals to absorb
Increase electrolyte

4. Organic synthesis:
Synthetic biology applications

Among these application areas, the most common one should be washing powder manufacturing. The application of washing powder with enzymes can be traced back to the 1960s. It has been found that enzymes can catalyze the degradation of stubborn stains at relatively mild temperatures. As a protein, enzymes can also be degraded naturally without any environmental pressure. The enzymes added in the current washing powder mainly include: protease, lipase, amylase, and cellulase, of which protease accounts for a large proportion.

In addition to washing powder, what applications do enzymes have in the textile industry? The most common should be the enzymatic treatment of wool fabrics. As early as the 1980s, people began to treat wool fabrics with proteases to prevent shrinkage. Traditional wool fabrics need to undergo a chlorine-hercosett process to prevent shrinkage, but this method is not environmentally friendly. It is much better to treat wool fabrics with enzymes.

In addition to enzymes for production, the food industry also has a great demand for enzymes. In the food industry, the most common application of enzymes should be amylase and glucosidase to hydrolyze starch. The hydrolyzed starch will produce small molecule monosaccharides or polysaccharides, which will sweeten the food. In addition, there are examples of using glucose isomerase to catalyze glucose to produce fructose syrup. As of 2009, 200 kinds of enzymes used in food production and processing have been widely used in the food industry, and 57 kinds of enzymes are directly produced by GMO (Genetically modified microorganism).

Creative Enzymes uses its expertise in enzyme production to provide customers with enzymes for life science research and the production of medicines, food, alcohol, beer, juice, fabrics, paper, leather products, etc. The company's products are used in a variety of applications in academic, commercial, and government laboratories worldwide, including basic research, drug discovery, cancer research, infectious disease research, microbiology, and personalized medicine.