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ENZYME ARTIFICIELLE [1 record]

Record 1 2018-01-29

English

Subject field(s)
  • Biological Sciences
CONT

Recently developed techniques of organic synthesis and polymer chemistry [now permit] to synthesize catalysts having enzyme-like activities ... sometimes called " synzymes" ... It seems most likely ... that enzyme mimics (analogues) will need a large complex structure, ... as well as any portions of degraded or part-synthesized enzymes which one might hope would retain (or exhibit) particular catalytic ability. The hope derives from the finding that some complex enzymes display more than one catalytic ability, and have different domains with characteristic active sites with specificity for particular substrates and conversions.... Consideration of the development of "synzymes" leads immediately to the question of feasibility at reasonable cost in a reasonable time period. One obvious question is how faithfully must the structure of the enzyme active center be duplicated?

OBS

There is growing interest in synthetic catalysts that mimic enzymes. Bioorganic chemists study enzyme models with the hope that results of their investigations will aid in the understanding of enzyme mechanism. With the development of industrial catalysis to the point where improvement in selectivity is a central theme in research, many believe that abiotic catalysts constructed with enzymes in mind could be of value in the chemical process industry.

French

Domaine(s)
  • Sciences biologiques
DEF

Molécule mimant l'action d'une enzyme naturelle, mais dépourvue de la structure complexe de celle-ci. En effet, les enzymes naturelles sont des protéines, macromolécules de plusieurs milliers d'atomes. Or seule une petite partie de l'enzyme, une cavité dans laquelle se loge un substrat, intervient dans une réaction enzymatique. Les chimistes ont donc synthétisé des composés ne possédant d'analogue à la structure protéinique que des cavités tridimensionnelles dans lesquelles viennent se loger, puis se transformer, des molécules «hôtes» de dimensions moléculaires modérées.

CONT

L'une des façons de mettre au point une enzyme artificielle est d'essayer de lui faire catalyser une réaction similaire à celle que catalyse une enzyme naturelle bien connue. Cette approche a été utilisée dans le cas des cyclodextrines modifiées pour «imiter» la ribonucléase A du pancréas du bœuf.

OBS

Le terme d'enzyme artificielle peut être ambigu: il ne s'agit absolument pas de produire des enzymes par synthèse chimique, ni de synthétiser des molécules capables de se substituer aux enzymes naturelles dans leur fonction, mais de fabriquer des catalyseurs «inspirés» des enzymes, aussi efficaces mais différant fondamentalement des catalyseurs usuels par leur organisation dans l'espace.

Spanish

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