Enzyme Technologies: Metagenomics, Evolution, Biocatalysis and Biosynthesis(Chemical Biology of Enzymes for Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Applications)

An authoritative review of the latest developments in the chemical biology of enzymes In the first decade of the twenty-first century, enzymes and their multiple applications have played a critical role in the discovery and development of many new therapeutic agents.This book is a coordinated compilation of research expertise and current opinion uniquely focused on enzymes and their properties and applications. Compiled by editors with a combined pharmaceutical experience of over sixty years, the text provides in-depth reviews of recent developments in selective topics on biosynthesis, biocatalysis, and chemical biology of enzymes as it applies to drug discovery, development, and manufacture. The first in a multi-part series on enzymes, this volume features three sections: New Approaches to Find and Modify Enzymes describes the emerging field of metagenomics, presents the practical applications of directed evolution to enzymes and pathways, and explores approaches for the discovery and design of biocatalysts Biocatalytic Applications reviews specific applications of different reactions in producing active pharmaceutical ingredients and surveys recent developments employing enzymes in organic synthesis Biosynthetic Applications goes over successful drug discoveries and developments by combinatorial biosynthesis and reviews the application of combinatorial biosynthesis among multiple compatible hosts These timely discussions, which cover everything from chemical biology of enzymes, to the redesign of binding and catalytic specificities of enzymes, make this volume a valuable tool for keeping up to date. As such, it is an important read for researchers, students, and professors in the study of biotechnology, life sciences, biochemistry, enzymology, medicinal chemistry, and natural products.

Table of Contents:
Contributors. Preface. PART A NEW APPROACHES TO FINDING AND MODIFYING ENZYMES. 1 Functional Metagenomics as a Technique for the Discovery of Novel Enzymes and Natural Products (Luke A. Moe, Matthew D. McMahon, and Michael G. Thomas). 2 Directed Enzyme and Pathway Evolution (Jacob Vick and Claudia Schmidt-Dannert). 3 Combining Natural Biodiversity and Molecular-Directed Evolution to Develop New Industrial Biocatalysts and Drugs (Laurent Fourage, Celine Ayrinhac, Johann Brot, Christophe Ullmann, Denis Wahler, and Jean-Marie Sonet). 4 Principles of Enzyme Optimization for the Rapid Creation of Industrial Biocatalysts (Richard J. Fox and Lori Giver). PART B BIOCATALYTIC APPLICATIONS. 5 Enzyme Catalysis in the Synthesis of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (Animesh Goswami). 6 Enzymatic Processes for the Production of Pharmaceutical Intermediates (David Rozzell and Jim Lalonde). 7 Novel Developments Employing Redox Enzymes: Old Enzymes in New Clothes (Kurt Faber, Silvia M. Glueck, Birgit Seisser, and Wolfgang Kroutil). PART C BIOSYNTHETIC APPLICATIONS. 8 Drug Discovery and Development by Combinatorial Biosynthesis (Matthew A. DeSieno, Carl A. Denard, and Huimin Zhao). 9 Reprogramming Daptomycin and A54145 Biosynthesis to Produce Novel Lipopeptide Antibiotics (Richard H. Baltz, Kien T. Nguyen, and Dylan C. Alexander). 10 Pathway and Enzyme Engineering and Applications for Glycodiversification (Lishan Zhao and Hung-wen Liu). Index.

About the Author :
Wu-Kuang Yeh, PhD, is Executive Consultant and was director of research and principal investigator at PreClinOmics, Inc., from 2004–2010. He was a principal research scientist at Eli Lilly and Company from 1982–2004. He is the author or coauthor of over 115 abstracts and publications, coeditor of one book, and the holder of six U.S. patents. Hsiu-Chiung Yang, PhD, is a Research Advisor at Eli Lilly and Company. She was a principal research scientist at Eli Lilly and Company from 1998–2007 and is the author or coauthor of over forty abstracts and publications, as well as co-inventor of one patent. James R. Mccarthy, PhD, is the author, coauthor, or coeditor of over 125 scientific publications and holder of over forty U.S. patents. He is on the editorial advisory board of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry and is a past chair of the division of Medicinal Chemistry of the American Chemical Society. He also serves as a Senior Scientific Advisor for the Huntington Disease Research Foundation.

Review :
"This book is a coordinated compilation of research expertise and current opinion uniquely focused on enzymes and their properties and applications." (Book Circle, 1 September 2011) "It provides a good starting point and gives all the necessary information to go from the overview of one of the fields described into the details of the broad list of original literature cited." (ChemBioChem, 11 February 2011)