Protein Design: A Comprehensive Overview

Protein design is the process of creating proteins with specific functions by manipulating the amino acid sequence. Scientists design proteins to create anti-cancer drugs (e.g. antibodies), gene editing medicines (e.g. Cas9), laundry detergents (e.g. amylases), digestible milk (e.g. lactases), and more. The terms protein engineering or optimization are usually for small changes on top of a natural starting point, while the term protein design usually makes more extensive changes on top of some starting point, and the term de novo protein design implies creation of a sequence from scratch (though may still have a known starting point).