Pharmaceutical enzymes

Abstract

Enzymes are important in all living cells because they act as biological catalysts that accelerate chemical reactions without being consumed in the process. Enzymes are crucial elements of every living entity and also address the dominant underlying causes of several health problems. Pharmaceutically important enzymes are an important component of the pharmaceutical market. They are broadly defined as prodrugs that target a specific biological reversible or irreversible reaction to treat a particular disease. Microorganisms are major source of pharmaceutically important enzymes, but several enzymes are also obtained from animal and renewable plant sources. Enzymes which are used for pharmaceutical applications include cysteine proteinases, asparaginase, streptokinase, urokinase, deoxyribonuclease I, hyaluronidase, pegademase, and glucocerebrosidase. Immobilized enzymes are also used in pharmaceutical industry. In pharmaceutical industry, the major applications of immobilized enzymes are the production of 6-aminopenecillinic acid using immobilized penicillin amidase which helps in the deacylation of the side chain of either penicillin G or penicillin V. There are several benefits of enzymes immobilization such as cost-effectiveness, protection from degradation and deactivation, retention of enzyme, enhanced stability, recycling, and repetitive use. The industrially important enzymes, such as α-amylase, protease, and alkaline lipase, are required in large volumes, but have an inherently low unit value so that they demand significantly lower manufacturing cost. On the other hand, pharmaceutical enzymes are produced in lower volumes and have inherently higher manufacturing cost.