Oxizymes for Biotechnology

Oxidation reactions with oxygen and peroxides are difficult to control in the artificial environment of man-made chemistry. This makes oxizymes, i.e. oxidative enzymes that use oxygen or peroxide as co-substrates, very valuable targets for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Additionally, growing awareness of sustainability issues in society has encouraged the use of oxizymes in these industries. Some oxizymes generate hydrogen peroxide as a by-product. Hydrogen peroxide has antimicrobial effects and is therefore of interest for the food industries as well as other industries where microorganisms pose a danger to the consumer or patient. Hydrogen peroxide can also be used as a bleaching agent and thus applications of oxizymes in the textile industries as well as the pulp and paper industries are common practice. Oxizymes have recently been found to play an important role as auxiliary enzymes in the degradation of biomass. In this role, they support carbohydrate active enzymes in the degradation of cellulose and chitin, or assist in the deconstruction of lignin-derived polymers. They are therefore of importance for the biofuels industry which aims to create biofuels from renewable plant materials to replace petroleum-based fuels. Oxizymes have many more properties that make them useful for industrial applications. This review summarizes the technological advancements, which have made the use of enzymes in industry possible, as well as showcases different types of oxizymes currently used in different industries. Also, the challenges oxizymes face before their industrial applications can be fully developed, are discussed.