title: Enzymes: nature's nanomachines. Royal Irish Academy Medal Lecture.
abstract: The development of enzyme kinetics, protein crystallography and NMR studies allows enzyme-catalysed reactions to be described in terms of mechanistic chemistry, albeit applied to relatively enormous molecules. These nanomachines, which so inspired Drexler's "Engines of Creation," have been working in biological systems for over three billion years and represent a useful knowledge base for our further understanding of mechanistic biology. They also provide a tantalizing glimpse into what may be the basis for novel technologies with industrial applications for the twenty-first century.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland. tmantle@tcd.ie
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Mantle
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001667:Binding, Competitive; D002553:Cerebroside-Sulfatase / Q000378:metabolism; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004798:Enzymes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D051549:Glutathione S-Transferase pi; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D008956:Models, Chemical; D011487:Protein Conformation; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D004798:Enzymes; D007527:Isoenzymes; C496556:GSTP1 protein, human; D051549:Glutathione S-Transferase pi; D005982:Glutathione Transferase; D002553:Cerebroside-Sulfatase