Protein Engineering Methods and Applications

Abstract

Protein engineering is the design of new enzymes or proteins with new or desirable functions. It is based on the use of recombinant DNA technology to change amino acid sequences. The first papers on protein engineering date back to early 1980ies: in a review by Ulmer (1983), the prospects for protein engineering, such as X-ray crystallography, chemical DNA synthesis, computer modelling of protein structure and folding were discussed and the combination of crystal structure and protein chemistry information with artificial gene synthesis was emphasized as a powerful approach to obtain proteins with desirable properties (Ulmer, 1983). In a later review in 1992, protein engineering was mentioned as a highly promising technique within the frame of biocatalyst engineering to improve enzyme stability and efficiency in low water systems (Gupta, 1992). Today, owing to the development in recombinant DNA technology and high-throughput screening techniques, protein engineering methods and applications are becoming increasingly important and widespread. In this Chapter, a chronological review of protein engineering methods and applications is provided.