Selecting Enzyme Catalysts
Romas Kazlauskas has developed rules and computer modeling methods that allow chemists to choose enzymes for use in biocatalytic
reactions to synthesize drugs, chemical intermediates & biofuels.
Enzymes are nature's catalysts evolved for efficient biochemistry. Applying them to current chemical problems minimizes pollution and
the use of toxic and non-selective chemical reagents. The scientific challenge, according to Kazlauskas, is to understand why enzymes are such selective and
efficient catalysts and to get them to catalyze new chemical reactions not available in natural biochemistry.
Kazlauskas has employed several strategies in adapting existing enzymes to catalyze new reactions. One strategy is to find and utilize additional reactions
that an existing enzyme can catalyze. Another strategy is to replace the catalytic metal center in an enzyme with one that catalyzes new reactions.
And a third strategy Kazlauskas has used to adapt existing enzymes to catalyze new reactions is to modify existing reaction mechanisms - the use of enzymes in water-free environments, for example, to make
biodegradable polymers.
KAZLAUSKAS HOME PAGE
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