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Insulin as a catalyst to recombinant DNA technology

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Scientific research on human insulin was a crucial development in medicine, and its discovery led to the treatment of diabetes, one of the most prevalent global chronic diseases. A seminal work published in 1979 describing recombinant DNA technology to produce human insulin through biocatalysis has resulted in this field’s establishment and routine industrial applications.

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Fig. 1: Biocatalysis in the production of insulin.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Zululand, KwaDlangezwa, South Africa

    Thavendran Govender

  2. Catalysis and Peptide Research Unit, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa

    Tricia Naicker

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  1. Thavendran Govender
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  2. Tricia Naicker
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Correspondence to Thavendran Govender.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Govender, T., Naicker, T. Insulin as a catalyst to recombinant DNA technology. Nat Catal 6, 454–455 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-023-00976-7

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