Singapore, June 25 -- A research team from the School of Life Sciences at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has developed a novel method for extracting enzymes from bacteria, which lowers the production cost yet improves the enzyme's stability. It also opens up a new avenue for the enzymatic production of biodiesel, an eco-friendly and effective substitute for fossil fuels. The research findings were recently published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Enzymes are small microscopic engines that drive the various chemical processes needed for life. Chemists often generate tailor-made enzymes and use them to produce drugs and other useful chemicals that we use daily. One example is the enzymatic synthesis of biodies...