The study on PluryZymes, a new enzyme model, has been selected to be the cover of Nature Catalytics this March. This work was led by researchers from Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), in collaboration with the Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica -CSIC. They created a new model of enzymes, PluriZymes, a significant advance in enzyme engineering where additional artificial active sites are added into one enzyme, thanks to a successful research that was published last December by the journal Nature Catalysis.
Thus, on top of the natural active site, were the biochemical process takes part, we can now add a second one, increasing not only its potential activity but, for example, adding new substrate specificities. Importantly, we have gone one step further. We have combined these two active sites into producing complementary chemical steps. Thus, a process requiring two different chemical steps (and two enzymes!) can now be realized with one single enzyme in a very efficient manner.
The design of these enzymes with multiple active sites was carried out with the PELE molecular interaction modeling software, created in the BSC by Víctor Guallar and his team. The results of these simulations have been verified in the laboratory where, with a result of 100% successes, PluriZymes EH1AB and EH105AB have been created. Additional activities (esterase, proteolytic, etc.) have been introduced and substrate sensitivity has been increased.
Currently the model is being tested successfully in other enzymes and work is beginning on the creation of nano-enzymatic reactors.
Further information here.