R&D : Advancing Enzyme Technology

Nature’s Sparkplugs Ignite a Revolution

Enzymes and their uses

Enzymes surround our daily lives. The production of many of the foods we enjoy such as cheese, bread, and beer would not be possible without them. Commercial processes such as developing high performance cleaning products, the bleaching of paper and the manufacture of pharmaceuticals would not be as cost effective without them. And, enzymes play a major role in the production of biofuels such as ethanol. Their use in the production of biofuels is rising as they are improved and new more versatile enzymes are developed.

Enzymes are specialized proteins that speed up (catalyze) chemical reactions and are essential in all living systems. Without enzymes, biological processes would occur much too slowly to sustain life. Enzymes are so powerful that one single enzyme can process up to a million molecules every second. Microbes found in diverse ecosystems are one of the world’s largest sources of unique enzymes.

It is Verenium’s mission to harness the power of enzymes through our discovery and DirectEvolution^® platforms to transform the way we produce biofuels, enable new and improved specialty industrial processes, and improve health and nutrition.