Reactions of enzymes with non-substrate polymers

Occasionally enzymes are found to react with polymers that are not the natural substrates of the enzymes. In this work we reviewed several such reactions, e.g., xanthan with cellulase, guar with protease and lipase, pectin with papain and β-galactosidase, and ester formation with protease. The results are variable, depending on the enzyme and the polymer involved. Sometimes we achieve only a modest effect with the enzymatic treatment, and the resulting materials are not likely to lead to commercial products. Sometimes the result is interesting and merits further research and development. In many of these cases, the reactions provide a better fundamental understanding of enzyme-substrate relationships, and the enzymes may be amenable to directed evolution/gene shuffling and process improvements.