Every year, thousands of tons of brown algae are extracted from the seabed to obtain compounds such as alginates, a polymer composed of sugars that has high density and strength, offering potential biotechnological applications. An international team led by the University of Barcelona has deciphered the mechanism by which a type of enzyme, called alginate lyase (AL), is capable of degrading these marine biomaterials, allowing them to be used as carriers of drugs, additives or thickeners, among others.
Key enzyme mechanism unlocks potential of brown algae compounds for biotech
