Enzyme future research

In terms of activity there seems little to prevent some of these compounds finding a place in therapy, especially those such as SCH 29482, SUN 5555, and FCE 25199 which have oral absorption properties. However, as is the case for the carbapenems, some penems ate extensively metabolized by human renal dehydropeptidase-1 enzyme (144). Although no penem has received approval for clinical use as of this writing, expectations ate high that future research and development will change that. 

One main line of future research could be in the inhibitory/activating effect on key enzymes involved in the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis. In particular, enzymes regulating signal transduction involved in phosphorylation of proteins, such as PKC and tyrosine protein kinase, seems to be somehow modulated by different polyphenols and may represent a possible target for polyphenol activity. 

Future research should also focus its attention on the factors/mechanisms that regulate free-radical activity in vivo. The complex interrelationship between cellular and extracellular levels of antioxidants needs to be clarified, and factors that govern the synthetic rate of the scavenging enzymes, for example, SOD or catalase will provide further insight into cellular redox control. 

Future research. From an industrial standpoint, the major requirements of p-mannanases are thermostability and the ability to hydrolyse crystalline and/or amorphous mannan to low DP oligosaccharides. Enzymes with such properties could find application in such processes as coffee extraction and in enzymic treatment of wood pulp. 

Enzymes in Biomass Conversion features chapters written by many of the leading international experts from universities, government research laboratories, and enzyme-producing industries. The chapters cover the enzymes of current potential importance to large-scale commercial bioconversion processes. They describe our state of knowledge about enzymes in specific applications, preferred methods for enzyme production, characteristics of the individual enzymes, and recommendations for future research. 

TTie diversity in the type of Fe-S clusters associated with these enzymes, catalyzing apparently simple hydration and/or dehydration reactions, is striking. Taken together, these results suggest that some of the Fe-S clusters that have been assigned redox roles in various enzymes may actually be functioning as catalytic groups. Clearly the field of Fe-S proteins, which a decade ago seemed to be well understood, has developed into a dynamic and fertile area for future research endeavors. 

Plant susceptibility to ozone as determined by visible injury may be very closely related to quantities of o-diphenols associated with the chloroplasts and specific requirements for activation of polyphenol oxidase enzymes. There is a significant correlation between ozone injury and concentrations of total phenols expressed as percent caffeic acid equivalents in peanut cultivars. This concept is not intended to underestimate the importance of membranes that separate phenols and enzymes. Perhaps future research will demonstrate that membranes of resistant alfalfa, green bean and other species differ both qualitatively and quantitatively from those of susceptible plants of these species. 

A very important step in the process is the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation. This requires enzymes that can effectively break the cellulosic and hemicellulosic material into sugar components. Additionally, micro-organisms that can use a wide range of sugars are desired. These are challenges to be solved by future research in the field of biotechnology. 

Identifying an environment that avoids induction of undesired enzymes and repression of desired ones and implementing bioreactor control systems that maintain these desired conditions in a bioprocess are subjects of future importance. For example, accumulation of a product in the cell environment can often repress synthesis of some of the enzymes required for production of that compound. Product repression and inhibition phenomena have motivated special interest recently in combined bioprocessing operations which accomplish separation simultaneously with bioreaction. By continuously removing a product that inhibits its own synthesis, production of that material is improved. Development of new selective membranes and other process strategies for accomplishing these separations is an important area for future research. 

---