New small-molecule catalyst does the work of many enzymes 

Published: Oct 03, 2013

Summary: Researchers have recently reported that they have created a man-made catalyst that acts just like an enzyme. Instead of acting on a single-target, like most enzymes, the new catalyst changes the chemical profile of many types of small molecules in medicines which greatly speeds up the process of drug discovery. Enzymes generally modify chemical profiles of their specific molecular targets to enable them to perform certain functions. One of these alterations involves replacing a carbon-hydrogen bond with a carbon-oxygen bond. This type of reaction is called an oxidation and is very essential to the body's processes. The newly made catalyst can oxidize certain carbon-hydrogen bonds on many different targets. If someone makes a medicinal compound and wants to oxidize it so that it will have an improved biological function, it currently can be achieved by using an enzyme that has been specifically made for that molecule and a long, synthetic process that could take months. The new catalyst can complete one of these alterations in less than half an hour and can also be used on different molecules and sites. It is very quick and efficient and will be very useful to drug discovery and the field of medicine once it is put to use.

See the article here: http://phys.org/news/2013-10-small-molecule-catalyst-enzymes.html

Relevance: In class we talked about enzymes, catalysts and the role that they play in our body. We learned that enzymes and catalysts speed up the rate of chemical reactions. This article shows how the new catalyst speeds up the process of discovering and making medicines because it reacts with numerous molecules and the reaction is very quick. We also learned that enzymes only react with specific molecules known as their substrates, which is also mentioned in this article. Enzymes only modify chemical profiles of their specific molecular targets. But the new catalyst that has been created can react with and oxidize different molecules which makes it very efficient. This article shows that the understanding of enzymes and catalysts doesn't only apply to chemical reactions in our own body but also the discovery and making of drugs and medicines that are very important to us.