Industrial Enzymes and Biocatalysis

All life processes, whether plant, animal, or microbial, depend upon a complex network of enzyme-catalyzed chemical reactions for cellular growth and maintenance [1–3]. As protein-based catalysts, enzymes facilitate reactions by enabling alternate reaction mechanisms with lower overall activation energy, without modifying the thermodynamic equilibrium constant or the free energy change of a chemical transformation. They generate enormous kinetic rate accelerations, often exceeding factors of 10¹²-fold relative to the rate of the uncatalyzed reaction. Enzymes are capable of performing many different chemistries, can be produced on a large scale, and typically operate at ambient temperatures and near neutral pH [4, 5]. These properties have captured the attention of generations of scientists and engineers over the past century and enabled the practical use of enzymes as industrial catalysts. Enzymes are now used extensively across a wide range of applications as demand for environmentally sustainable processes increases in a number of industries [6–9].