Biocatalyst discovery

Robertson, D.E. and Steer, B.A. (2004) Recent progress in biocatalyst discovery and optimization. Current Opinion in Chemical Biology, 8 (2), 141-149. 

New Rapid Screening Technologies for Biocatalyst Discovery and Development... 

Although, especially for the 1 -isomer, it is possible to use commercial aminoacylases for the purpose, we felt that for the technology to be industrially ready, we had to be assured of the catalyst supply. To achieve this, we wanted to produce the catalyst ourselves and embarked on a program of biocatalyst discovery and development. Through this we identified and characferized our own cloned proprielary 1 - and d-aminoacylase enzymes, which we can now use to manufaclure products in ton quantities if needed. Collaboration with Littlechild at the University of Exeter characterized a particularly useful theromo-stable and therefore robust 1 -aminoacylase from Thermococcus litoralis that can optionally be immobilized to generate a reusable industrial biocatalyst. ... 

NHases are widely found in bacteria, which thereby make use of nitriles as sole source of nitrogen by coupling with an amidase (hydrolases acting on amides that yield the corresponding carboxylic acid). This feature provides a means for new biocatalyst discovery via nitrile-selective saeening [6,7]. An iron-based colorimetric assay for NHase/amidase-activity was recently developed and optimized for high throughput discovery [8]. 

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