I
read the article “New small-molecule catalyst does the work of many enzymes” by
Diana Yates. The article explains talks about how researchers at the University
of Ohio created a man-made catalyst that, unlike an enzyme, can alter the
chemical profiles of multiple types of small molecules. This catalyst can be
used to speed the discovery of new drugs. Enzymes are synthesized for the
purpose of changing the profiles one type of molecule. This is an obstacle for
pharmaceutical drug researchers. If it has been discovered that one molecule in
a large compound can be changed to alter the compounds effects, a normal enzyme
will not alter the compound, since it cannot change other parts of the
compounds. For the compound to be changed, the entire molecule must be
re-synthesized, which can take up to a month for just one compound. With this
new catalyst is able to alter multiple molecules, allowing the process to take
only half an hour. The lead researcher behind the creation of the catalyst,
Professor M. Christine White, has made a similar catalyst before that had gone
after most electron rich carbon-hydrogen bond, but the new one is a much
greater improvement, as it goes after the most electron rich bond that is least
encumbered by other atoms. This improvement allows the catalyst to change the
targeted molecule without destroying the entire compound. The improvement also
allows the researchers to computationally predict what bonds will be affected
and in what order. The molecule has not been perfected to work on all C-H
bonds, but is being altered to hopefully achieve this.
This
new catalyst is important not because of what it can do, but how quickly it can
do it. With the new catalyst, changing specific molecules in a compound have
been changed from taking an entire month to taking only half an hour. It will
allow for vital pharmaceutical research to be done quicker and more
efficiently. The catalyst at the moment has limited uses, but will further
research it will be expanded to work on all bonds in the future. The catalyst
also represents the way man can create something better than what nature
designed. On a chemical level, the catalyst is better than a natural enzyme, as
it can work with multiple types of molecules.
The
article, although it was written rather well, can use some improvements. For
example, the article does not talk much about the chemical processes, such as
how the catalyst determines which molecule is targeted or how the catalyst
knows to replace C-H bonds with C-O-O bonds. This added information will allow
to be understood on a more scientific level. Despite this, the article is still
very informative.
Yates, Diana.
"New Small-molecule Catalyst Does the Work of Many Enzymes." Illinois News Bureau. University of
Illinois, 3 Oct. 2013. Web. 04 Oct. 2013.
<http://news.illinois.edu/news/13/1003enzymes_MChristinaWhite.html>.
Matthew summarized the article, “New Small-Molecule Catalyst Does the Work of Many Enzymes” well. He clearly stated the main idea of the article, by writing, “…researchers at the University of Ohio created a man-made catalyst that, unlike an enzyme, can alter the chemical profiles of multiple types of small molecules.” He also did a great job comparing the quickness of natural enzymes and the new man-made catalyst, by stating that with the new man-made catalyst, altering specific molecules in a compound have been changed from taking an entire month to only taking thirty minutes. Lastly, Matthew did a good job saying how the article affects humanity by noting that, “It will allow for vital pharmaceutical research to be done quicker and more efficiently…The catalyst also represents the way man can create something better than what nature designed. On a chemical level, the catalyst is better than a natural enzyme, as it can work with multiple types of molecules.” By stating this, the reader can realize that not only is the article informative for biology, but it is important for the lives of human beings.
ReplyDeleteEven though Matthew reviewed the article well, it still could have been improved. He should have mentioned the name of the new catalyst, which is called iron CF3-PDP. Also, he could have re-read his review to check for grammatical errors because there are a few present. For instance, when Matthew states, “The catalyst at the moment has limited uses, but will further research it will be expanded to work on all bonds…,” it should have been written as, “The catalyst at the moment has limited uses, but with further research, it will be expanded to work on all bonds…”
Overall, Matthew did a great job with reviewing the article. The article itself was educational, but, at times, confusing. However, after reading the article a couple of times, I learned that the man-made catalyst can change the chemical profiles of various types of small molecules.
After reading Matt’s analysis of the article “New Small-Molecule Catalyst Does the Work of Many Enzymes,” I learned many new things about drug research and development. One of the aspects of his writing that I thought was good was his substantial and informative summary of the article. This gave me a good idea of what message the article was conveying, and taught me about a field I had little prior knowledge about. Another part of the review that I liked was his second paragraph, where he makes the distinction between what this artificial enzyme can do now and what it could potentially do in the future. A third aspect of the review that was impressive was his comparison between the artificial enzyme and natural enzymes, as this gave me a sense of how these two differed. I did enjoy Matt’s article thoroughly, but there were a couple of areas that could have been improved. One of these was his lack of direct quotations and specific analysis from the article. This would have solidified his review and supported his summary in the first paragraph. Another area he could have improved was his grammar, as there are sentences that either do not make sense, or have small grammatical errors, such as a missing or incorrect use of a word. In general, I think that Matt provided us with a proficient review of an article that sheds light on a topic that not many people are familiar with. One thing that I learned from the review and article was that the amount of time it takes to research new drugs has, by using the artificial enzyme, decreased from about a month to only 30 minutes. This shows, as Matt stated, that humans are capable of producing a more efficient version of something that functions naturally.
ReplyDeleteMatt did a good job summarizing “New Small-Molecule Catalyst Does the Work of Many Enzymes”. I thought it was really helpful how he explained the background of this enzyme well because I knew nothing about it before this and now I feel like I have a general idea. I liked how he not only explained the background of this enzyme but he gave a brief general statement. Along with the background information I thought Matt did a very good job explaining the importance. He did it in a separate paragraph so it was very clear to the reader. He also explained how it can be used in the future which I thought was very important. Another aspect I thought Matt did well was his critique on the article, in the last paragraph. I thought it was interesting how he thought adding information about chemical processes would add to the scientific level of the article. I completely agree with Matt on this and if it were me I would not have been able to make that suggestion.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I think Matt did a very good job, I had some critiques. I found one or two grammatical errors, or typos, that I thought took away from the article. I felt like I had to reread a sentence to understand what he was trying to say. One last thing I thought he could’ve done was using a quote. Personally I like when quotes because it ties everything back to the article completely and they can be used to support a point very well.
From reading the article and the review, the thing that stuck out to me the most was how with this new catalyst a scientist can now change a compound in half an hour instead of a month. I did not realize how much potential a catalyst like this had in the changing compounds. z