Enzymes are known to catalyze more than 5000 diverse chemical reactions. The possibilities for using enzymes in small scale reactors are limitless. Thousands of currently known enzymes from diverse life forms catalyze reactions such as A to B and vice-versa. These complex reactions enable new possibilities to produce energy, decontaminate wastes to harmless by-products, and create complicated synthetic reactions. We seek the significant breakthroughs needed to use enzymatic reactions for such applications as chemical production and chemical detoxification.
Enzymes are the nano-machines of cells.
Enzymes efficiently catalyze chemical reactions, sometimes at rates exceeding a million reactions per second, without requiring elevated temperature, pressure, or dangerous solvents. Sources Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Institutional Plan FY 2001- 2005. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Richland, Washington.