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Topics in enzyme and fermentation biotechnology
Enzyme Engineering, volume 5 Editors: H. H. Weetall and G. P. Rover Plenum Press, New York, 1980, xviii + 485 pp., £31.19, US $49.50 ' E n z y m e Engineering' v o l u m e 5 continues the well established series which regularly brings together contributions from leading scientists and engineers from the fields of chemistry, biochemistry, drug research, microbiology, biophysics and chemical engineering. This v o l u m e represents the proceedings of the F i f t h International E n z y m e Engineering Conference held in Henniker, New Hampshire in August 1979. Due to its rapid publication it surely must be one of the most up to date works in the d e v e l o p m e n t of t e c h n o l o g y involved in the i m m o b i l i z a t i o n of enzymes, ceils and organelles. The high standard of reporting found in previous volumes has been well maintained (for reviews see Enzyme Microb. Technol. 1979, 1, 2 2 3 , 3 0 0 ) . The individual state-ofthe-art papers provide enlightening discussion on a variety of subjects of interest b o t h in the academic and industrial c o m m u n i t i e s , ranging from e n z y m e p r o d u c t i o n and industrial processes to small-scale preparations and l a b o r a t o r y applications. The increase in emphasis on the study and application of i m m o b i l i z e d whole cells and organelles is reflected in the increased n u m b e r of papers, c o m p a r e d with previous volumes, directed towards this area. Special emphasis is also given to the application of e n z y m e engineering in medical and pharmaceutical fields with a wide variety of papers presented on topics from e n z y m e channelling i m m u n o a s s a y techniques and lectin electrodes to magnetic microspheres for targeting drugs and the p r o d u c t i o n of cephalosporins. The k e y n o t e article by Katchalski sets the scene for the rest of the papers with a brief, but balanced, review of the achievements in e n z y m e engineering and an excellent view into the future, with his predictions for the d e v e l o p m e n t of the science. His o p t i m i s m for increased usage of i m m o b i l i z e d enzymes and cells in industrial applications is confidently presented and his call for close interdisciplinary c o o p e r a t i o n is echoed by the reviewers. This volume, like the previous volumes, will serve as a very useful reference w o r k for those actively
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involved in b i o t e c h n o l o g y and, because of the balanced manner in which m a n y of the papers are presented with a t t e n t i o n to background and current state of the art, will prove useful for those in the teaching (or learning) of the chemistry of e n z y m e i m m o b i l i z a t i o n and all aspects of b i o t e c h n o l o g y including the little emphasized area of applications with which this series deals in an excellent manner. We t h o r o u g h l y r e c o m m e n d this volume.
John F. Kennedy University of Birmingham, UK Charles A. White National Institute of Biological Standards and Control, London, UK
Topics in Enzyme and Fermentation Biotechnology, volume 5 Editor: Alan Wiseman Ellis Horwood, Chichester, 1981, 360 pp., £26.50, US $70.00
The v o l u m e begins with an excellent review on the subject of i m m o b i l i z e d c o e n z y m e s by Dr C. R. Lowe. The a u t h o r has been a pioneer in the field and this is reflected in the insight and detail of his analysis, which concentrates on the adenine nucleotidecontaining coenzymes. He begins by summarizing the molecular structural knowledge now available and this knowledge informs the subsequent discussion of the chemistry of i m m o b i l i z a t i o n and practical applications. The review deals b o t h with the use of i m m o b i h z e d c o e n z y m e s as affinity liquids and as active cofactors, and the m o r e stringent requirements of i m m o b i l i z a t i o n m e t h o d s for the latter are explained. The analysis of recycling of i m m o b i l i z e d cofactors makes it clear that there is still some way to go to achieve practical systems but, equally, that the understanding at the molecular level of what needs to be done gives promise of success. The second article reviews aspects of large-scale e n z y m e extraction and recovery. This is a m u c h less explored field than that of cofactor i m m o b i lization and there is a less coherent conceptual f r a m e w o r k within which to work. The author, Dr Darbyshire,
Enzyme Microb. Technol., 1981, Vol. 3, July
is from the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research, one of the few groups to w o r k seriously in the field, and he draws u p o n his experience and that of his colleagues there. The review is divided b e t w e e n discussion of extracellular and intracellular e n z y m e recovery, and special attention is given to cell disruption and extraction techniques for intracellular enzymes. The review covers most of the available literature up to the end of the '70s, but this serves to show how patchy is our knowledge of the subject which will significantly define whether b i o t e c h n o l o g y can achieve i m p o r t a n t breakthroughs. Our understanding must improve quickly, not only to permit i m m o b i l i z e d e n z y m e catalysis to be developed, but also to allow proper exploitation of genetic engineering m e t h o d s for obtaining proteins of all kinds from microorganisms. The third review is at first sight of m u c h narrower interest. It concerns the properties, biogenesis and fermentation of the cyclic decaptide Gramacidin S, a rather toxic antibiotic of limited use. However, the author, Dr V a n d a m m e , has had the advantage of working with Professor A. L. Demain at MIT and the latter's scholarship in studying this system is a guarantee of its interest. Astonishingly, little is k n o w n of the e n z y m i c synthesis of antibiotics, despite their commercial importance, and this system is one of the few for which a reasonably detailed understanding exists. This alone makes the subject more widely interesting and the successful efforts at MIT to use the isolated enzymes for synthesis marks one of the present boundaries of e n z y m e technology achievement. As an aside, it's rather interesting to note that the 'S' of Gramacidin S stands for Soviet! A chapter on papain and other constituents of Carica Papaya is specialist in its interest but again reflects the authors' detailed experience of the field. One is left with the impression that well defined and consistently available microbial enzymes are likely to be increasingly substituted for papain in industrial applications. In the final section of the book, the editor briefly reviews the literature on the i m m o b i l i z a t i o n and applications to analysis and synthesis of alcohol dehydrogenases. He is to be congratulated that in his chapter and elsewhere the references are up to 1980.
Peter Dunnill University College London, UK
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involved in b i o t e c h n o l o g y and, because of the balanced manner in which m a n y of the papers are presented with a t t e n t i o n to background and current state of the art, will prove useful for those in the teaching (or learning) of the chemistry of e n z y m e i m m o b i l i z a t i o n and all aspects of b i o t e c h n o l o g y including the little emphasized area of applications with which this series deals in an excellent manner. We t h o r o u g h l y r e c o m m e n d this volume.
John F. Kennedy University of Birmingham, UK Charles A. White National Institute of Biological Standards and Control, London, UK
Topics in Enzyme and Fermentation Biotechnology, volume 5 Editor: Alan Wiseman Ellis Horwood, Chichester, 1981, 360 pp., £26.50, US $70.00
The v o l u m e begins with an excellent review on the subject of i m m o b i l i z e d c o e n z y m e s by Dr C. R. Lowe. The a u t h o r has been a pioneer in the field and this is reflected in the insight and detail of his analysis, which concentrates on the adenine nucleotidecontaining coenzymes. He begins by summarizing the molecular structural knowledge now available and this knowledge informs the subsequent discussion of the chemistry of i m m o b i l i z a t i o n and practical applications. The review deals b o t h with the use of i m m o b i h z e d c o e n z y m e s as affinity liquids and as active cofactors, and the m o r e stringent requirements of i m m o b i l i z a t i o n m e t h o d s for the latter are explained. The analysis of recycling of i m m o b i l i z e d cofactors makes it clear that there is still some way to go to achieve practical systems but, equally, that the understanding at the molecular level of what needs to be done gives promise of success. The second article reviews aspects of large-scale e n z y m e extraction and recovery. This is a m u c h less explored field than that of cofactor i m m o b i lization and there is a less coherent conceptual f r a m e w o r k within which to work. The author, Dr Darbyshire,
Enzyme Microb. Technol., 1981, Vol. 3, July
is from the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research, one of the few groups to w o r k seriously in the field, and he draws u p o n his experience and that of his colleagues there. The review is divided b e t w e e n discussion of extracellular and intracellular e n z y m e recovery, and special attention is given to cell disruption and extraction techniques for intracellular enzymes. The review covers most of the available literature up to the end of the '70s, but this serves to show how patchy is our knowledge of the subject which will significantly define whether b i o t e c h n o l o g y can achieve i m p o r t a n t breakthroughs. Our understanding must improve quickly, not only to permit i m m o b i l i z e d e n z y m e catalysis to be developed, but also to allow proper exploitation of genetic engineering m e t h o d s for obtaining proteins of all kinds from microorganisms. The third review is at first sight of m u c h narrower interest. It concerns the properties, biogenesis and fermentation of the cyclic decaptide Gramacidin S, a rather toxic antibiotic of limited use. However, the author, Dr V a n d a m m e , has had the advantage of working with Professor A. L. Demain at MIT and the latter's scholarship in studying this system is a guarantee of its interest. Astonishingly, little is k n o w n of the e n z y m i c synthesis of antibiotics, despite their commercial importance, and this system is one of the few for which a reasonably detailed understanding exists. This alone makes the subject more widely interesting and the successful efforts at MIT to use the isolated enzymes for synthesis marks one of the present boundaries of e n z y m e technology achievement. As an aside, it's rather interesting to note that the 'S' of Gramacidin S stands for Soviet! A chapter on papain and other constituents of Carica Papaya is specialist in its interest but again reflects the authors' detailed experience of the field. One is left with the impression that well defined and consistently available microbial enzymes are likely to be increasingly substituted for papain in industrial applications. In the final section of the book, the editor briefly reviews the literature on the i m m o b i l i z a t i o n and applications to analysis and synthesis of alcohol dehydrogenases. He is to be congratulated that in his chapter and elsewhere the references are up to 1980.
Peter Dunnill University College London, UK