Directed Evolution and Biocatalysis

This review describes the current state of biocatalysis in the chemical industry. Although we recognize the advantages of chemical approaches, we suggest that the use of biological catalysis is about to expand dramatically because of the recent developments in the artificial evolution of genes that code for enzymes. For the first time it is possible to consider the rapid development of an enzyme that is designed for a specific chemical reaction. This technology offers the opportunity to adapt the enzyme to the needs of the process. We describe herein the development of enzyme evolution technology and particularly DNA shuffling. We also consider several classes of enzymes, their current applications, and the limitations that should be addressed. In a review of this length it is impossible to describe all the enzymes with potential for industrial exploitation; there are other classes, which given appropriate activity, selectivity, and robustness, could become useful tools for the industrial chemist. This is an exciting era for biocatalysis and we expect great progress in the future. Advances in directed molecular evolution are now having an impact on the field of biocatalysis. One can envision biocatalytic processes in which the enzyme has been designed to operate under optimal process conditions (see picture), instead of processes in which the conditions have been constrained to accommodate the enzyme.