Nature Chemical Biology (2025): “Advances in integrating microbial metabolism with catalytic systems”
Integrated catalytic systems that combine microbial metabolism with chemocatalysis, electrocatalysis, photocatalysis and biocatalysis are emerging as sustainable solutions for hybrid chemical–biosynthetic production and environmental remediation. By leveraging the strengths of engineered microbial cells and their metabolic pathways, along with synthetic catalysts, these hybrid systems use the unique benefits of each catalytic process to enable complex, […]
Nature Reviews Methods Primers (2025): “Flow biocatalysis”
Flow biocatalysis uses enzymes to catalyse chemical reactions under continuous flow with applications in the synthesis of fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and natural products, among others. The flow set-up, which, in its core elements, is no different from a classical flow chemistry apparatus, has enabled reaction conditions and reactivities impossible to achieve in batch mode. In […]
Materials Advances (2025): “MiniSOG as a Biodegradable Heterogeneous Photocatalyst for Coupled Redox Biotransformations”
Visible-light photocatalysis has emerged as a powerful strategy to drive chemical reactions under mild conditions, often in tandem with biocatalysts to achieve one-pot cascades. In this work, we demonstrate that the photocatalytic flavoprotein miniSOG, originally engineered as a genetically encoded singlet oxygen generator, can be repurposed as a heterogeneous photocatalyst. By immobilizing miniSOG as cross-linked […]
ACS Catalysis (2025): “Hybrid Catalytic Systems: Integrating Biocatalysis in the Chemical Space”
Achieving stereocontrol in chemical transformations remains one of the cornerstones of synthesis. Traditional methods to achieve stereoselectivity are based on organo- or metal catalysts, which may raise environmental concerns. As the global demand to create more renewable processes escalates, there is an increased need to develop procedures that minimize waste buildup and the use of […]
ACS Omega (2025): “Covalent immobilization of different enzymes on hydroxyapatite, an alternative green support”
Greener and cheaper alternatives to petrol-based supports have been studied in recent years to implement biocatalysis in industrial processes exploiting enzyme immobilization. Among these, hydroxyapatite (HAP), represents a suitable candidate thanks to its structural stability, non-toxicity, large surface area, and ease of surface modification. As it can be sourced from waste, it fulfills also the […]
ACS Sus Chem Eng (2025): “Biocatalytic Reduction of Six-membered Ring Heterocyclic Imines in Continuous Flow”
Abstract: “Heterocyclic amines are a key structural motif for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals (e.g. antibiotics), as well as pesticides and flavors. In this regard, imine reductases (IREDs) have recently emerged as a highly selective and sustainable alternative for asymmetric reductive amination reactions. Herein, we have applied six IREDs, two of which were newly identified, in […]
Chem & Bio Eng (2025): “Crystallization-assisted asymmetric synthesis of enantiopure amines using membrane-immobilized transaminase”
Abstract: “The production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) requires enantiopure chiral amines, for which greener synthesis processes are needed. Transaminases (TAs) are enzymes that catalyze the enantioselective production of chiral amines from prochiral ketones through transamination under mild conditions. Yet, industrial applications of biocatalytic transamination remain currently hindered by the limited stability of soluble enzymes […]
AMAB (2025): “Self-sufficient biocatalytic cascade for the continuous synthesis of danshensu in flow”
A new strategy has been developed to successfully produce the active component danshensu ex vivo. For this purpose, phenylalanine dehydrogenase from Bacillus sphaericus was combined with the novel hydroxyphenylpyruvate reductase from Mentha x piperita, thereby providing an in-situ cofactor regeneration throughout the conversion process. The purified enzymes were co-immobilized and subsequently employed in batch biotransformation, […]
RSC Sust. (2024): “Membrane-immobilized transaminases for the synthesis of enantiopure amines”
For the manufacture of enantiopure amines, greener synthesis processes are needed. Transaminases (TAs) are able to produce chiral amines with excellent enantioselectivity and in mild conditions, and can be immobilized to target stability, recoverability, and reusability. In the perspective of process intensification, we propose to study TA immobilization onto polymeric membranes. Two main immobilization strategies […]
Helv. Chim. Acta (2024): “Cost-Effective and Sustainable Scale-Up of Short-Chain Primary Amines”
Amines, crucial components in various industries, play a pivotal role in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and specialty chemicals. Recognizing the environmental impact of conventional methods for their preparation, our study centers on the utilization of abundantly available natural molecules, specifically amino acids, as precursors for short chain amine synthesis. This paper focuses on the […]