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Frequently Asked Questions

Is enzyme activity, EC number, biological function and other information accurate for "products under-development"?

What is CAZy?

Can I download your product disclaimer?

What are recombinant enzymes (proteins), and how do they differ from native enzymes (proteins)?

Can small quantities of many enzymes be purchased for screening purposes?

Why is the enzyme in a high concentration of ammonium sulphate?

Do I have to register as a customer to access certain information on the Prozomix website?

As an existing customer, do I have to register again to become a Prozomix Commercial Academic Partner (CAP)?

Do I need to be an existing customer to become a Prozomix Commercial Academic Partner (CAP)?

Do I need to be an existing customer or Commercial Academic Partner (CAP) to become a Prozomix CAP Referrer?

As a Commercial Academic Partner (CAP), how often do I receive my royalty payments?

As a Commercial Academic Partner (CAP) Referrer, how often do I receive my royalty payments?

Does a recombinant enzyme (protein) require associated academic literature to be considered for the Commercial Academic Partner (CAP) Programme?

How often will you keep me informed of the progress of my enzyme through the commercialisation process?

How many days does delivery take?

Do discounts apply to large orders / bulk enzymes?

Are free samples available?

What do I do if I require technical assistance?

Are your products of animal or plant origin as defined for import / export restrictions?

Who is my local distributor for Prozomix products?


Is enzyme activity, EC number, biological function and other information accurate for "products under-development"?

There are two types of "products under-development":

1. Where enzyme activity, EC number, and biological function information is based very simply on membership of a particular family (for example glycoside hydrolase family 10), and/or from a highly significant sequence alignment using a program such as BLAST

In such cases, the phrase "(putative)" is found after the enzyme name in the Product Specification Sheet (see example), signifying that an exact activty has not yet been demonstrated for that enzyme/protein.  However, all other parameters apart from the enzyme/protein activity, EC number and biological function given on a Product Specification Sheet for such products under-development are accurate.

2. Where activity has been demonstrated in the literature (or from another source) for a particular enzyme/protein

In such cases, the phrase "(putative)" is NOT found after the enzyme name in the Product Specification Sheet (see example), and all parameters will be accurate, subject to the literature (or other source of information) being correct.

For further information please contact technical@prozomix.com


What is CAZy?

The CAZy (Carbohydrate-Active EnZymes) database (http://www.cazy.org/) describes the families of structurally-related catalytic and carbohydrate-binding modules (or functional domains) of enzymes that degrade, modify, or create glycosidic bonds. 

For further information regarding the CAZy enzymes/proteins supplied by Prozomix, please see here.

For further information regarding CAZy itself, please see here.


Can I download your product disclaimer?

Yes, please click on the link below:

Prozomix product disclaimer (15-01-09)


What are recombinant enzymes (proteins), and how do they differ from native enzymes (proteins)?

Generally speaking Prozomix recombinant enzymes (proteins) are the same as their native counterparts, except they have been produced in a controlled laboratory system (bacterial). In general terms, as there are no differences in the amino acid sequence of the recombinant enzyme (protein) compared to the native one, the biological activity will invariably be identical (for further information contact technical@prozomix.com).


Can small quantities of many enzymes be purchased for screening purposes?

Yes, for example custom screening kits comprising 1 mg of each enzyme can be purchased, subject to a minimum order of just 5 enzymes. Screening kits are generally supplied as 10 mg/mL enzyme suspensions in microtubes, though other formats can be specified depending on order size and application (for further information contact technical@prozomix.com).


Why is the enzyme in a high concentration of ammonium sulphate?

A traditional method of preserving enzymes is to precipitate them with a high concentration of salt. The most popular salt employed is ammonium sulphate, as it has excellent precipitating qualities (ability to dehydrate the protein surface), is inexpensive, is non-toxic, and does not interfere with many biochemical applications (at the final concentration employed, i.e. after dilution in the assay). Should ammonium sulphate interfere with an application, other custom formats are available on request, such as freeze-dried preparation (depending on application and order size; for further information contact technical@prozomix.com).


Do I have to register as a customer to access certain information on the Prozomix website?

No, all information (including multi-currency pricing) is freely available to anyone accessing the Prozomix website.


As an existing customer, do I have to register again to become a Prozomix Commercial Academic Partner (CAP)?

No, you will be prompted to input you existing customer login and password as part of the form filling procedure to become a Prozomix Comercial Academic Partner (CAP). The same login and password will then be used for both customer and during use of the CAP Interface. To become a CAP see here.


Do I need to be an existing customer to become a Prozomix Commercial Academic Partner (CAP)?

No, whilst we hope the vast majority of our Commercial Academic Partners (CAPs) will also be, or become, customers, this is not a pre-requisite. The system is, however, designed so that should a CAP wish to become a customer, no further registration will be required, and the first order can be placed instantly. To become a CAP see here.


Do I need to be an existing customer or Commercial Academic Partner (CAP) to become a Prozomix CAP Referrer?

No, it is not a pre-requisite that a Commercial Academic Partner (CAP) Referrer is either an existing customer or a CAP. The system is, however, designed so that should a CAP Referrer wish to become a customer, no further registration will be required, and the first order can be placed instantly. To become a CAP Referrer see here.


As a Commercial Academic Partner (CAP), how often do I receive my royalty payments?

A Commercial Academic Partner (CAP) can track sales of each commercialised enzyme daily via the CAP Interface. The information available includes the number of sales of each enzyme, and the cumulative royalty payment due to date. The annual royalty payment is calculated from sales to the end of October, and are paid at the start of November.


As a Commercial Academic Partner (CAP) Referrer, how often do I receive my royalty payments?

A Commercial Academic Partner (CAP) Referrer can, daily via the CAP Interface, track the cumulative royalty payment due to date. The annual royalty payment is calculated from sales to the end of October, and are paid at the start of November. NOTE: information regarding individual sales, and from which enzyme, are not available to a CAP Referrer, as this is considered confidential information to the CAP.


Does a recombinant enzyme (protein) require associated academic literature to be considered for the Commercial Academic Partner (CAP) Programme?

No, any recombinant enzyme, regardless of whether or not scientific literature exists, is eligible for the Commercial Academic Partner (CAP) Programme. Indeed, it is hoped that the CAP Programme will afford further use to such unpublished research, where, for example, no further research was performed because of the publication of competing work, or where library screening led to the cloning and expression of genes of already known sequence / function.


How often will you keep me informed of the progress of my enzyme through the commercialisation process?

We realise that a lack of frequent updates regarding progress would be very frustrating for our Commercial Academic Partners (CAPs). We have thus incorporated a summary page within the CAP Interface, to enable the daily progress of each enzyme to be viewed. Progress steps found on this pane are:

  1. Proposal accepted
  2. Clone and agreement received
  3. Clone verified
  4. Enzyme produced and purified
  5. Enzyme characterised
  6. Enzyme stabilised
  7. Enzyme packaged
  8. Enzyme available on web site

How many days does delivery take?

Unless stated otherwise in the product description, delivery will be next day (UPS) to most locations (Europe, USA) if order placed before midday (UK time). Some locations such as Australia will require two days for delivery. However, although we document our products thoroughly, from time to time a package will be delayed while passing through customs. All our products are stable enough to avoid damage during such a period, and we will inform you electronically of any such delay.


Do discounts apply to large orders / bulk enzymes?

Dependent on the size of the order, and the product(s) involved, large order / bulk enzyme discounts may be available (please enquire to info@prozomix.com).


Are free samples available?

Dependent on the application involved, free samples may be available (please enquire to technical@prozomix.com). However, Prozomix generally offers small pack sizes for most of its product range at very competitive prices.


What do I do if I require technical assistance?

All technical queries are answered within 8 hours, regardless of when they are made. During Prozomix laboratory working hours (Monday – Friday 9:00 am to 6 pm UK time) technical queries by telephone to the UK (+ 44 (0)1434 400455) will be dealt with immediately. Similarly, emailed technical queries will be answered within 3 hour during this period. Outside Prozomix laboratory working hours, technical queries should be submitted by email, and will be answered within 8 hours (365 days a year). Should your query require technical data to be sent to Prozomix, such as spectrometer traces, diagrams, etc, please send via fax to the UK (+ 44 (0)1434 322822).


Are your products of animal or plant origin as defined for import / export restrictions?

No, our products are not derived from plants or animals (this is a major advantage of recombinant enzymes / proteins. For more information regarding this topic please enquire to info@prozomix.com.


Who is my local distributor for Prozomix products?

We supply direct to all our global customers apart from those in Portugal. We believe that as the developer, producer and supplier of the vast majority of our products we are in the best position to support our customers. Coupled with rapid next day delivery to the majority of our customers, we do not envisage the requirement for a local distributor network in the short-term.

Our Portuguese distributor, NZYTech, does however specialise in recombinant technology, and we thus have the privilege of them managing our Portuguese sales.

NZYTech, Lda. – Genes and Enzymes
Inovisa, Instituto Superior de Agronomia
Tapada da Ajuda
1300-477 Lisboa
PORTUGAL

Tel: + 351 213643514
Fax: + 351 213630284
www.nzytech.com
Sales and Customer Services: info@nzytech.com
Technical Support: carlos.fontes@nzytech.com