CHEM-C 484

Working on this review paper has introduced me to various techniques involved in enzyme engineering such as computational prediction, mutagenesis, and functional assays. Reading through current research has also demonstrated that enzymes capable of plastic degradation have been identified from a variety of sources such as bacteria living inside insects, petroleum-contaminated soil, landfills, compost, recycling facilities, and etc. Many efforts have been made to understand the structure and mechanism of these enzymes, and engineering efforts have been made to increase thermal stability, catalytic efficiency, and turnover rate of the enzymes. Particularly, a lot of the engineering effort is put into a set of enzymes called PETase and MHETase, isolated from the bacteria Ideonella sakaiensis, in hopes that it will be an innovative solution to recycle polyethylene terephthalate (PET). 

Immersing myself in the current research and observing all the research directions within the field has made me even more excited about the subject and eager to contribute to the research effort. This project has made me more enthusiastic to apply to graduate schools with the goal of studying enzymes for sustainable applications.