New workflow transforms nonfunctional protein scaffolds into active enzymes

Enzymes are regarded as the key to sustainable chemistry. Despite major advances in protein design, creating artificial enzymes from scratch has so far remained a grand challenge. A research team at the University of Bayreuth, in collaboration with scientists from the University of Ottawa, has now demonstrated how nonfunctional protein scaffolds can be transformed into highly active enzymes. The researchers report their findings in Nature Chemical Biology.