Current Research Trends on Enzyme Structure, Dynamics, and Mechanisms of Action
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Biochemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 153
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Enzymes are biomacromolecules that accelerate biochemical reactions in living organisms, from bacteria to mammals. Enzymes perform complex reactions by leveraging their unique structure and conformational movements. One distinctive feature of enzymes is that their reactions are stereoselective, while they often use cofactors to catalyze challenging reactions. Enzymes comprising metal cofactors are known as metalloenzymes. The roles that enzymes play often make them attractive drug targets, while their potential for sustainable industrial applications has been the focus of recent research. It is imperative to understand the mechanisms of action of enzymes in order to explore their applications. Spectroscopic and computational methods are integral to contemporary research uncovering the intricacies of enzyme mechanisms.
The aim of this Special Issue is to showcase cutting-edge research on structure elucidation, conformational dynamics, and the mechanisms of action of enzymes. This Issue seeks to explore how enzyme structure and dynamics are intertwined with its function, using diverse experimental and computational approaches. These include, but are not limited to, investigations of enzymes using site-directed mutagenesis, X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy, QM/MM and DFT computations, and various spectroscopies such as NMR, EPR, and CD. Of particular interest are studies elucidating the role of cofactors in enzyme mechanisms of action, including those of metalloenzymes. Moreover, the scope of this Issue also covers investigations of enzymes as drug targets, as well as studies of sustainable biocatalytic applications.
This Special Issue welcomes original research articles, short communications, and reviews.
Dr. Amarendra Nath Maity
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- enzyme mechanism
- enzyme dynamics
- metalloenzymes
- cofactor
- X-ray crystallography
- cryo-electron microscopy
- QM/MM
- DFT
- EPR
- drug target
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