Enzymes are biology’s catalytic workhorses, binding molecules together, splitting them apart and reconfiguring them in processes vital to everything from digestion to breathing. Their availability, efficiency and specificity have long made them popular for reactions outside biological systems as well, including those involved in food preservation, detergents and disease diagnostics.

“Enzymes are nature’s privileged catalysts(link is external),” said UC Santa Barbara assistant professor of chemistry Yang Yang(link is external). “They can catalyze reactions with amazing selectivity.” Efforts over the past three decades have also resulted in the development of customized enzymes — enzymes rapidly evolved for directed purposes, to interact with specific molecules, resulting in a high yield of desired products with unparalleled selectivities.