Abstract: Penicillin G Acylase (PGA) has emerged as a critical biocatalyst in pharmaceutical sciences, exceeding its traditional role in penicillin synthesis. Despite its industrial significance, challenges, including substrate specificity, stability under industrial conditions, and efficiency in immobilization, persist. Engineering enhanced enzyme variants and developing advanced immobilization techniques along with process optimization shall be possible solutions to further improve reaction efficiency and scalability. Green chemistry integration can make PGA-based processes more sustainable. Moreover, the use of computational tools, including AI-driven optimization, can guide enzyme design and reaction condition refinement. A review synthesizing these advancements not only consolidates existing knowledge but also identifies opportunities for further innovation, ensuring the enzyme’s continued industrial and scientific relevance. The review discusses the structure and functionality of PGA, highlighting its diverse applications beyond penicillin production. Beyond antibiotic synthesis, PGA's usefulness extends to ester synthesis, resolving racemic mixtures and peptide bond formation, underlining its importance in various bioconversions and synthetic reactions. This adaptability is crucial for green chemistry, promoting sustainable practices in industrial processes. The kinetic parameters of PGA are discussed, providing insights into its operational efficiency. Despite its significant potential, PGA faces limitations in commercial applications, primarily due to stability issues under industrial conditions. Efforts to enhance PGA's stability, including engineering approaches, are explored to improve its industrial applicability. The review concludes by emphasizing PGA's role as a catalyst with vast implications in science and medicine, particularly in an era of rising antibiotic resistance. It underscores the enzyme's interconnected roles in production and therapeutics, its broad spectrum of applications, and the shift from traditional penicillin synthesis to broad-spectrum bioconversions. The scope of PGA engineering is also highlighted, indicating future directions for research and application in the pharmaceutical industry.
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