Could Building Our Own Proteins Be the Future?

 by Henry Ball

Proteins are arguably the most vital molecules in the human body. Accounting for 15.1% of human body mass, Their uses range from building muscles and transferring molecules around the cell to catalysing almost every reaction in the body. They were described by Connor Lynn, co-founder and CFO of leading protein engineering company Protein Evolution, as: “nature’s smallest machines”. 

The basic structure of a protein consists of a long chain of amino acids which folds into a specific shape, therefore defining its function. The shape to which the protein folds is determined by which amino acids it contains and their order. Due to the existence of 20 different amino acids in the human body and over 300 amino acids per protein, there are 20300 different theoretically possible proteins. These possibilities inevitably pose an opportunity for us to create our own protein enzymes, to catalyse countless everyday reactions.

One of the first proposed uses of these engineered proteins is to massively increase the rate of plastic and waste material decomposition and to recycle the bare building blocks of plastics back into the chemical industry. The basic process of this is described by 'Protein Evolution': The first step is to isolate the relevant plastic and to analyse its makeup so that the AI program can synthesise an effective enzyme. Next, this enzyme must be grown in fermentation tanks to produce sufficient quantities for large-scale decomposition. Finally, the broken-down plastic molecules can be extracted and fed back into the chemical industry. One of the struggles with creating a sustainable business decomposing plastics is ensuring that the process is cheap and accessible enough to be used by the chemical industry instead of standard disposal methods. However, the progress already made by Protein evolution has helped them to secure £20 million in funding to continue researching and producing these new enzymes.

In conclusion, it seems inevitable that the protein engineering sector will continue to grow and that we will see more of these synthesised proteins throughout our everyday life. I am optimistic about the possibilities of a more circular and environmentally friendly chemical production economy moving forward.

Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkart/2022/10/31/protein-evolution-engineers-supercharged-organisms-to-break-down-plastic-waste/?sh=560051bc7a02

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/01/230126124330.htm