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In this article we will discuss about the medical applications of enzymes in analysis and therapy.
About 50 different enzymes are being used for clinical diagnoses. Two of the major enzymes are peroxidases from horseradish and alkaline phosphatase from beef intestinal mucosa. Both of these are required for immunoassays. The enzymes are used in test strips, EL1SA, biosensors and auto-analyzers.
The usage of enzymes in therapeutical way may be divided into two categories:
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1. Topical application of enzyme as an extracellular agent.
2. Intracellular application of enzyme to treat metabolic deficiency and other related diseases.
The example of extracellular enzymes are the proteolytic enzymes in clot removal; collagenase to treat skin ulcers, hyaluronidase in drug administration, trypsm as an ant,-inflammatory agent and wound cleanser, rhodanase (thiosulphate sulphur transferase) in cyan.de poisoning and uricase in gout. Human tissue plasminogen activator has been cloned in Escherichia coli a bacterium and is produced in transformed mammalian cells which have been approved for treatment of myocardial infection.
It is interesting that hyaluronidase obtained from beef testes is a useful agent to aid diffusion when coinjected with other drugs such as antibiotics, adrenalin, heparin and local anaesthetics. It is because that hyaluronidase causes hydrolysis of polyhyaluronic acid the main polysacchande constituent of connective tissue; thereby help in diffusion of other substances by reducing the viscosity in the area of injections given.
