Enzymology and Molecular Biology

Structural Biochemistry, Synthetic Biology & Tissue Engineering

Structural Biochemistry/Enzyme. Enzymes are macromolecules that help accelerate (catalyze) chemical reactions in biological systems. This is usually done by accelerating reactions by lowering the transition state or decreasing the activation energy. ... These residues are called the catalytic groups. Enzymes made from artificial molecules which do not occur anywhere in nature have been shown to trigger chemical reactions in the lab, challenging existing views about the conditions that are needed to enable life to happen. A team of researchers have created the world’s first enzymes made from artificial genetic material.

The synthetic enzymes, which are made from molecules that do not occur anywhere in nature, are capable of triggering chemical reactions in the lab. Enzyme systems like tyrosinases, transferases and lysyl oxidases show interesting characteristics as dynamic scaffolds and as systems for controlled release. Increased attention is currently paid to hydrogels obtained via crosslinking of precursors by transferases or peroxidases as catalysts. Enzyme-mediated crosslinking has proven its efficiency and attention has now shifted to the development of enzymatically crosslinked hydrogels with higher degrees of complexity, mimicking extracellular matrices. Moreover, bottom-up approaches combining biocatalysts and self-assembly are being explored for the development of complex nano-scale architectures. In this review, the use of enzymatic crosslinking for the preparation of hydrogels as an innovative alternative to other crosslinking methods, such as the commonly used UV-mediated photo-crosslinking or physical crosslinking will be discussed.