Detergent protease for high activity under harsh conditions
The resulting improved industrial protease was optimized in only four rounds of library generation and screening (panel A) to yield 100-fold increased activity in the presence of detergents, bleaching agents (oxidizers) and high temperatures. Under such conditions, the improved enzyme could be applied at 100-fold lower concentrations to achieve the same level of protein digestion as the starting enzyme, (panel B).
) | ) |
Background of the project.
Detergent proteases are used to remove protein-containing laundry stains in household or industrial laundry washing machines. Since natural enzymes can typically only tolerate the conditions to which they are subjected in nature, detergent proteases must generally be engineered for high activity in the harsh environment found in washing machines. This environment includes the presence of detergents, bleaching agents (oxidizers) and high temperatures.
print page