If you think about all the desirable features in a catalyst, your list would probably look something like the one below.
Characteristics of the ideal catalyst
High turnover number
Cost-effective
Broadly useful
Sustainably produced
Non-toxic
Chemo-selective
Stereoselective (when necessary)
Biodegradable
Enzymes—at least the right enzymes—can meet all of these requirements. Enzymes are proteins, sometimes with other functionality such as sugars or lipids bound to them. As such they are completely natural and biodegradable. Typically produced by microbial fermentation from inexpensive sugars as starting materials, enzymes are almost always sustainably produced. Enzymes typically have high turnover numbers, and when produced efficiently by modern genetic engineering methods, enzymes are highly cost-effective. They are also broadly useful, catalyzing reactions with almost every type of chemical compound and functional group, and being catalytically active in the presence of water as well as various organic solvents.
To read the entire article, click here: Why Use Biocatalysis?
