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The 10 Chemical Innovations with the Highest Sustainability Potential

Directed Evolution of Enzymes – Evolution in Time Lapse Problem: Biomolecules are complex and evolutionary processes over millions of years have been adapted to specific tasks. In chemistry, finding and optimizing new molecules for specific tasks is a difficult and time-consuming undertaking. Goal: The design of tailor-made proteins is an important step for the sustainable synthesis of active substances and basic chemicals. With the right enzymes, biosyntheses in bacterial cultures could be improved or made possible. Solution: Instead of the planned synthesis of new compounds according to the arrow back arrow forward Image Zoom
Directed Evolution of Enzymes – Evolution in Time Lapse

Problem: Biomolecules are complex and evolutionary processes over millions of years have been adapted to specific tasks. In chemistry, finding and optimizing new molecules for specific tasks is a difficult and time-consuming undertaking.

Goal: The design of tailor-made proteins is an important step for the sustainable synthesis of active substances and basic chemicals. With the right enzymes, biosyntheses in bacterial cultures could be improved or made possible.

Solution: Instead of the planned synthesis of new compounds according to the "trial and error" principle, enzymes are subjected to a targeted evolution. Frances H. Arnold was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2018 for this process. This makes it possible to run the natural evolution of enzymes in the laboratory in just a few hours or days and thus obtain optimized biocatalysts. The enzymes obtained could, for example, be used to produce biofuels or active ingredients for drugs. With modern computer analyses, targeted evolution could be better understood and used more efficiently in the future. (Picture: Pixabay/8385)
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