Enzymes, the workhorses of chemical reactions in cells, lead short and brutal lives. They cleave and assemble proteins and metabolize compounds for a few hours, and then they are spent. This sad fact of nature has limited the possibilities of harnessing enzymes as catalytic tools outside the cell, in uses that range from biosensing to toxic waste cleanup. To increase the enzyme's longevity and versatility, a team at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., has caged single enzymes to create a new class of catalysts called SENs, or single enzyme
nanoparticles. The nanostructure protects the catalyst, allowing it to remain active for five months instead of hours.
"The principal concept can be used with many water-soluble enzymes," said Jungbae Kim, PNNL senior scientist who described the feat here today at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society.
"Converting free enzymes into these novel enzyme-containing nanoparticles can result in significantly more stable catalytic activity," added Jay Grate, PNNL laboratory fellow and SENs co-inventor.