• Question: why "the enzyme torture"?

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      Asked by sunnygarfeth to Luke on 13 Jun 2016.
      • Photo: Luke Williams

        Luke Williams answered on 13 Jun 2016:

        The enzymes that I work with, no one has ever worked with them before. Thus I am trying to figure out under what conditions they will work – what temperature, pH etc.

        At some point the enzyme is going to start getting a little stressed out and fall apart, or denature, at which point it stops working. By knowing when an enzyme stops working, it allows me to say how stable that enzyme is and how long it will keep working for in conditions that are as close to industry as I can get.

        A typical new enzyme is likely to be pretty fragile, a substantial proportion of enzymes that are used industrially will be modified in some manner.

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