This introduction collects 17 innovative approaches to engineer novel and improved proteins for diverse applications in biotechnology, chemistry, bioanalytics and medicine. As such, key developments covered in this reference and handbook include de novo enzyme design, cofactor design and metalloenzymes, extremophile proteins, and chemically resistant proteins for industrial processes. The editors integrate academic innovations and industrial applications so as to arrive at a balanced view of this multi-faceted topic. Throughout, the content is chosen to complement and extend the previously published two-volume handbook by the same editors, resulting in a superb overview of this burgeoning field.

This introduction collects 17 innovative approaches to engineer novel and improved proteins for diverse applications in biotechnology, chemistry, bioanalytics and medicine. As such, key developments covered in this reference and handbook include de novo enzyme design, cofactor design and metalloenzymes, extremophile proteins, and chemically resistant proteins for industrial processes. The editors integrate academic innovations and industrial applications so as to arrive at a balanced view of this multi-faceted topic.Throughout, the content is chosen to complement and extend the previously published two-volume handbook by the same editors, resultingin a superb overview of this burgeoning field.

PREFACEDIRIGENT EFFECTS IN BIOCATALYSISIntroductionDirigent ProteinsSolvents and Unconventional Reaction MediaStructure and FoldingStructured and Unstructured DomainsIsozymes, Moonlighting Proteins, and Promiscuity: Supertalented EnzymesConclusionsPROTEIN ENGINEERING GUIDED BY NATURAL DIVERSITYApproachesProtocolsFuture DirectionsConclusionsPROTEIN ENGINEERING USING EUKARYOTIC EXPRESSION SYSTEMSIntroductionEukaryotic Expression SystemsConclusionsPROTEIN ENGINEERING IN MICRODROPLETSIntroductionDroplet FormatsPerspectivesFOLDING AND DYNAMICS OF ENGINEERED PROTEINSIntroductionProof-of-Principle Protein DesignsProteins Designed for FunctionConclusions and OutlookENGINEERING PROTEIN STABILITYIntroductionPower and Scope of Protein Engineering to Enhance StabilityMeasurement of a Protein's Kinetic StabilityDevelopments in Protein StabilizationENZYMES FROM THERMOPHILIC ORGANISMSIntroductionHyperthermophilesEnzymes from Thermophiles and Their ReactionsProduction of Proteins from (Hyper)ThermophilesProtein Engineering of Thermophilic ProteinsCell Engineering in HyperthermophilesFuture PerspectivesENZYME ENGINEERING BY COFACTOR REDESIGNIntroductionNatural Cofactors: Types, Occurrence, and ChemistryInorganic CofactorsOrganic CofactorsRedox CofactorsConcluding RemarksBIOCATALYST IDENTIFICATION BY ANAEROBIC HIGH-THROUGHPUT SCREENING OF ENZYME LIBRARIES AND ANAEROBIC MICROORGANISMSIntroductionOxygen-Sensitive BiocatalystsBiocatalytic Potential of Oxygen-Sensitive Enzymes and MicroorganismsAnaerobic High-Throughput ScreeningConclusions and OutlookORGANOMETALLIC CHEMISTRY IN PROTEIN SCAFFOLDSIntroductionProtocol/Practical ConsiderationsGoalsSummaryENGINEERING PROTEASE SPECIFICITYIntroductionProtocol and Practical ConsiderationsConcepts, Challenges, and Visions on Future DevelopmentsPOLYMERASE ENGINEERING: FROM PCR AND SEQUENCING TO SYNTHETIC BIOLOGYIntroductionPCRSequencingPolymerase Engineering StrategiesSynthetic Informational PolymersENGINEERING GLYCOSYLTRANSFERASESIntroduction to GlycosyltransferasesGlycosyltransferase Sequence, Structure, and MechanismExamples of Glycosyltransferase EngineeringPractical Considerations for Screening GlycosyltransferasesFuture Directions and OutlookPROTEIN ENGINEERING OF CYTOCHROME P450 MONOOXYGENASESCytochrome P450 MonooxygenasesEngineering of P450 MonooxygenasesConclusionsPROGRESS AND CHALLENGES IN COMPUTATIONAL PROTEIN DESIGNIntroductionThe Technique of Computational Protein DesignProtein Core Redesign, Structural Alterations, and ThermostabilizationComputational Enzyme DesignComputational Protein - Protein Interface DesignComputational Redesign of DNA Binding and SpecificityConclusionsSIMULATION OF ENZYMES IN ORGANIC SOLVENTSEnzymes in Organic SolventsMolecular Dynamics Simulations of Proteins and SolventsThe Role of the SolventSimulation of Protein Structure and FlexibilitySimulation of Catalytic Activity and EnantioselectivitySimulation of Solvent-Induced Conformational TransitionsChallengesThe Future of Biocatalyst DesignENGINEERING OF PROTEIN TUNNELS: THE KEYHOLE - LOCK - KEY MODEL FOR CATALYSIS BY ENZYMES WITH BURIED ACTIVE SITESTraditional Models of Enzymatic CatalysisDefinition of the Keyhole - Lock - Key ModelRobustness and Applicability of the Keyhole - Lock - Key ModelEvolutionary and Functional Implications of the Keyhole - Lock - Key ModelEngineering Implications of the Keyhole - Lock - Key ModelSoftware Tools for the Rational Engineering of KeyholesCase Studies with Haloalkane DehalogenasesConclusionsINDEX