Proteases, a powerful biochemical tool in the service of medicine, clinical and pharmaceutical.

Ghadir A Jamal, Ehsan Jahangirian, Hossein Tarrahimofrad, Michael R Hamblin, Hamed Mirzaei, Neda Alikowsarzadeh

Journal: Preparative biochemistry & biotechnology 2025;55(1):1-25

PMID: 38909284

Abstract

Proteases, enzymes that hydrolyze peptide bonds, have various applications in medicine, clinical applications, and pharmaceutical development. They are used in cancer treatment, wound debridement, contact lens cleaning, prion degradation, biofilm removal, and fibrinolytic agents. Proteases are also crucial in cardiovascular disease treatment, emphasizing the need for safe, affordable, and effective fibrinolytic drugs. Proteolytic enzymes and protease biosensors are increasingly used in diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Advanced technologies, such as nanomaterials-based sensors, are being developed to enhance the sensitivity, specificity, and versatility of protease biosensors. These biosensors are becoming effective tools for disease detection due to their precision and rapidity. They can detect extracellular and intracellular proteases, as well as fluorescence-based methods for real-time and label-free detection of virus-related proteases. The active utilization of proteolytic enzymatic biosensors is expected to expand significantly in biomedical research, model systems, and drug development. We focused on journal articles and books published in English between 1982 and 2024 for this study.

Address: Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait.; Department of Molecular, Zist Tashkhis Farda Company (tBioDx), Tehran, Iran.; Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.; Faculty of Health Science, Laser Research Center, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein, South Africa.; Research Center for Biochemistry and Nutrition in Metabolic Diseases, Institute for Basic Sciences, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.; Molecular and Life Science Department, Han University of Applied Science, Arnhem, Nederland.

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