Themed collection Biocatalysis: A cross-journal collection

Stages of the penetration of catalytic technology and the necessity for fruitful collaboration.

The properties of biocatalysis can be tuned by encapsulation of enzymes inside protein cages, which alters enzyme behaviors, substrate access and product release, and efficiency of cascade reactions.

Light-driven catalytic cycles by oxidative enzymes, such as peroxygenases, dehydrogenases or monooxygenases, perform a variety of selective oxyfunctionalization and dehydrogenation reactions with or withdrawal of reducing equivalents.

This perspective reviews the current status and prospects of biocatalysis in ionic liquids.

Implementing immobilized biocatalysts in continuous-flow systems can enable a sustainable process through enhanced enzyme stability, better transport and process continuity as well as simplified recycle and downstream processing.

This review covers the recent progress in various biological approaches applied to the synthesis of enantiomerically pure cyclic and heterocyclic alcohols through CO/C–H/C–O asymmetric reactions.

The application of immobilised enzymes in flow allows for process intensification, reduced reactor volumes and improved safety.

This review offers a comprehensive and timely summarization of the most recent breakthroughs and future trends in creating reactive oxygen nanobiocatalysts, which guides their broad applications in diverse biomedical and biological fields.

Nucleic acid-modified nanozymes provide hybrid nanostructures that act as sensors, effective catalysts and bioreactor systems, DNA switches and catalysts for nano-biomedical applications.

Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) is a sustainable approach to producing fuels and value-added chemicals from anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO₂).

Interfacing photocatalysts with microbes to produce solar fuels and chemicals from carbon dioxide and sunlight.

The many waves of biocatalysis have arisen to solve long-standing synthetic challenges. From industrially applied hydrolases to enzymes catalysing selective C–C-bond formation, biocatalysis enables new tools to access a plethora of compounds.

Immobilized enzymes in inorganic hybrid nanoflowers for biocatalytic and biosensing applications.

This review article discusses developments in the chemo-enzymatic synthesis of alkaloids since 2013, showcasing how modern methods of organic synthesis and biocatalysis are combined to establish novel routes towards these important natural products.

Technological developments enable the discovery of novel enzymes, the advancement of enzyme cascade designs and pathway engineering, moving biocatalysis into an era of technology integration, intelligent manufacturing and enzymatic total synthesis.

Flow biocatalysis: where to start? This tutorial review aims to guide and inspire new-comers to the field to boost the potential of flow biocatalysis.

Chiral β-nitroalcohols are versatile synthetic intermediates for several pharmaceuticals, and bioactive molecules. This review describes the importance and various biocatalytic approaches for their enantio and diastereoselective synthesis.

This tutorial review highlights the recent achievements made in the field of nanobiocatalysis with emphasis on nano-integrated biocatalysis and bio-inspired nanocatalysis.

This tutorial review focuses on recent advances in technologies for enzyme immobilisation, enabling their cost-effective use in the bio-based economy and continuous processing in general.

It's not only lipases which can be applied in alternative solvent systems to meet industrial and environmental demands. At the hand of case studies and flowcharts this review quickly shows what solvent systems are viable.

We review the recent progress of synthesis routes for four α,ω-C6 bifunctional compounds (6-hydroxyhexanoic acid, 6-aminocaproic acid, 1,6-hexanediol and 1,6-hexanediamine), focusing on routes involving sustainable catalysts or renewable feedstocks.

Immobilised TsOYE on Celite carrier catalyses the bioreduction of activated alkenes in pure organic solvent, providing full conversion to (chiral) products.

Comparison of S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) analogue generation by halide methyltransferase (HMT) and methionine adenosyltransferase (MAT) for methyltransferase catalysed alkylation.

The corrinoid protein MtaC, which is natively involved in methyl transferase catalysis, catalyzes N-alkylation of aniline using ethyl diazoacetate.

We report a multienzymatic cascade for the synthesis of 1,6-hexamethylenediamine (HMD) and related α,ω-diamines from corresponding cycloalkanols.

The unsaturated dicarboxylate fumarate was produced from pyruvate and CO₂ by applying malate dehydrogenase and fumarase as a catalyst for the visible-light driven regeneration of NADH for the first time.

A green approach, catalyzed by the catecholase enzyme obtained from sweet potato, to generate bioactive wedelolactone and many of its analogs which are useful precursors for a variety of coumestan-based natural products.

Selective O-demethylation of the lignin monoaromatics, syringol and guaiacol, using the peroxygenase activity of two distinct cytochrome P450 enzymes.

Here, we show how synthetic polymers, prepared by a combination of controlled radical polymerization and in-situ screening, can be used to address a biological challenge – how to improve biofilm formation – to provide solutions to a field – biocatalysis – of industrial and societal relevance.

The biocatalytic synthesis of fumarate from CO₂ and pyruvate viaL-malate as an intermediate in an aqueous medium using a biocatalytic system consisting of malate dehydrogenase and fumarase in the presence of NADH is developed.

Soluble hydrogenase enables atom efficient, H₂-driven, recycling of synthetic nicotinamide cofactors.

A ketoreductase (KRED)-catalyzed dynamic reductive kinetic resolution strategy was developed for the highly stereoselective and green synthesis of anti-aryl α-chloro β-hydroxy esters.

CO₂ fixation initiates cracking: the enzymatic ortho-carboxylation activates the singly hydroxylated aromatic ring of naphthalene for the following selective cracking catalyzed by dioxygenase in a cofactor-free one-pot cascade reaction.

A light-controlled biocatalytic one-pot system is developed, which enables precise regulation of gene expression and photocatalysis by illumination and yields high conversion and stereoselectivity.

Multiple direct electron transfer pathways are discovered in Tungsten-containing formate dehydrogenase from the viewpoints of structural biology and bioelectrochemistry.

A novel multienzyme cascade redox-neutral system for the synthesis of halogenated indoles from amino alcohols.

We developed a multienzyme biocatalytic cascade with high atom efficiency and a self-sufficient redox network for the synthesis of nylon monomers without adding auxiliary enzymes to recycle cofactors.

Bio-catalytic reactions involving ene-reductases (EREDs) in tandem with chemo-catalysis in water can be greatly enhanced by the presence of nanomicelles derived from the surfactant TPGS-750-M.

CO₂ can be enzymatically reduced to methanol in a cascade reaction involving three enzymes: formate-, formaldehyde- and alcohol dehydrogenase (FateDH, FaldDH, ADH).

Sulfoxides have been synthesised from various sulfide substrates under mild conditions exploiting CALB biocatalyst in the presence of urea hydrogen peroxide and AcOEt which acts with the dual role of solvent and reagent.

Designing an alternative access to the morphinan scaffold by taking advantage of biocatalysis for asymmetric CN reduction and oxidative C–C bond formation.

Dynamic dimerization of GOx-loaded microcapsules with β-gal//hemin/G-quadruplex-bridged T₁/T₂-loaded microcapsules guides the bi-directional intercommunication of the three catalysts cascade.

An unprecedented strategy was proposed for recycled interfacial biocatalysis in a CO₂-responsive emulsion stabilized by soft protein particles. The recycled enzyme maintained its catalytic activity, with a conversion yield over 90% after 30 cycles.

Engineering proteinaceous colloidosomes with magnetic-responsiveness are designed as both enzyme carrier and emulsifier, achieving a breakthrough in protein-based w/o Pickering interfacial biocatalysis.

We report a unified chemoenzymatic asymmetric synthesis of five prostaglandins, featuring two enzymatic redox transformations and a copper(II)-catalyzed regioselective p-phenylbenzoylation.

Enzyme-decorated polymeric nanoparticles as both catalytic sites and stabilizers for a high catalytic activity and easily recyclable Pickering interface biocatalysis system.

A computational strategy using synergetic energy and correlated configuration for redesigning enzymes (SECURE) is proposed for the thermostability engineering of multimeric proteins.

Enzyme immobilization is a key strategy to expand the scope of enzyme applications and to enable the recycling of biocatalysts, resulting in greener and more cost-efficient processes.

A new application of magnetic separation suitable for micron-scale solid–solid separation is designed and demonstrated on a pilot plant scale synthesis of amoxicillin trihydrate.

Development of a whole-cell catalysis system for an efficient conversion of glutamate to 5-aminolevulinic acid.

An efficient biocatalytic reduction of difluoromethylene group-containing ketones with commercial ketoreductase K234 was reported to access chiral difluoromethylene-containing secondary alcohols with excellent yields and high enantioselectivity.

A new robust, active and selective biocatalyst, prepared by CaL-B entrapment into polyvinyl alcohol–chitosan nanofibers, proved to be efficient for the EKR of nine racemic phenothiazinyl-ethanols, important chiral building blocks.

By incorporating [NiFe]-hydrogenases into a proteinaceous carboxysome shell, we generate a novel biocatalyst that has improved production of clean hydrogen, oxygen tolerance, and thermostability, highlighting its great potential in biotechnological applications.

Mn- and Co-doped CeO₂ nanozymes were developed via atomic engineering to achieve enhanced enzymatic activity and modulation of catalytic selectivity, which could protect cells from LPS- or H₂O₂-induced oxidative damage by scavenging free radicals.

Spent coffee grounds can be bioconverted via Man26A to prebiotic mannooligosaccharides; this is an example of biocatalysis in the biorefinery.

The development of a protecting group-free, 2-step synthesis of 5-amino-2-hydroxymethyltetrahydropyran 1a from biorenewable Cyrene™ is described which renders access to BTK-inhibitor nemtabrutinib (2) more efficient and sustainable.

One-pot β-hydroxybutyrate synthesis from CO₂ and acetone in an aqueous solution with acetone carboxylase and β-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase extracted from Rhodobacter capsulatus SB1003 by culturing in an acetone–bicarbonate medium was developed.

New insights into the general efficacy of halohydrin dehalogenase for the synthesis of fluorinated chiral building blocks using biocatalytic and computational approaches.

The specificity profile of the intramolecular oxa-Michael addition (IMOMA)-catalysing cyclase PedPS7 is presented. It uncovers broad substrate tolerance and high stereoselectivity of the enzyme and suggests principle differences between various subtypes of IMOMA cyclases.

Whole cells of Pseudomonas putida KT2440 producing multicomponent non-heme diiron monooxygenase PmlABCDEF transforms a vast variety of compounds into different oxy-derivatives, in certain cases with high regio- or enantioselectivity.

A new whole-cell biocatalyst E. ludwigii YYP3 was applied in the conversion of HMF to BHMF and exhibited outstanding catalytic efficiency and cycling stability. Its underlying molecular mechanism, especially the target enzymes responsible for HMF reduction, was revealed.

Novel immobilized enzyme CRL-FIL-CLEAs@Fe₃O₄ with enhanced activities and stabilities was successfully prepared by a cross-linked lipase aggregate method for phytosterol esterification.

Unspecific peroxygenase (UPO) has been shown to be a promising biocatalyst for oxyfunctionalization of a broad range of substrates with hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) as the cosubstrate.

Surfactant-enabled asymmetric ATA-catalyzed reductive aminations in aqueous buffered media are described, representative of the enhanced levels of conversion made possible by the presence of a nonionic surfactant in the water, thereby enabling 1-pot chemoenzymatic catalysis.

This article reports on a novel biocatalytic method for the synthesis of both enantiomers of lisofylline based on Trametes versicolor laccase, TEMPO as a redox mediator and stereocomplementary recombinant alcohol dehydrogenases as biocatalysts.

We report that generating (formic acid) and regenerating (NADH/NADPH) from CO₂ and NAD⁺/NADP⁺ using a nitrogen-rich polymeric carbon nitride catalytic–biocatalytic system under solar light (λ > 420 nm) could provide a new approach for storage of clean energy.

A 24-fold increase in GlcNAc-transferase ability through KfiA screening and engineering. An approach for heparosan oligosaccharide synthesis relying on single-function glycosyltransferases.

The anions of cholinium-based IL molecules interact with the protein through hydrogen bonding and other interactions, causing great influence on the thermal stability and enzymatic activity of proteinase K.

The authors describe an automated, data-rich screening and process development method for rapid discovery, development, and optimization of immobilized enzymes, critical to many biocatalytic processes.

Enzyme-incorporated composites with hierarchical porous structures can lead to improved performance of hybrid biocatalysts.