Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

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 provided by Syndetics

• Contributors (p. vii)
• Preface (p. ix)
• Part A New Approaches to Finding and Modifying Enzymes (p. 1)
• 1 Functional Metagenomics as a Technique for the Discovery of Novel Enzymes and Natural Products (p. 3)
• 2 Directed Enzyme and Pathway Evolution (p. 41)
• 3 Combining Natural Biodiversity and Molecular-Directed Evolution to Develop New Industrial Biocatalysts and Drugs (p. 77)
• 4 Principles of Enzyme Optimization for the Rapid Creation of Industrial Biocatalysts (p. 99)
• Part B Biocatalytic Applications (p. 125)
• 5 Enzyme Catalysis in the Synthesis of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (p. 127)
• 6 Enzymatic Processes for the Production of Pharmaceutical Intermediates (p. 185)
• 7 Novel Developments Employing Redox Enzymes: Old Enzymes in New Clothes (p. 199)
• Part C Biosynthetic Applications (p. 251)
• 8 Drug Discovery and Development by Combinatorial Biosynthesis (p. 253)
• 9 Reprogramming Daptomycin and A54145 Biosynthesis to Produce Novel Lipopeptide Antibiotics (p. 285)
• 10 Pathway and Enzyme Engineering and Applications for Glycodiversification (p. 309)
• Index (p. 363)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

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.