Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry (2023): “Glycosyl Benzoates as Novel Substrates for Glycosynthases”
Well done to Sabrina (our master student), Lauriane and Davey! Abstract: The development of a procedure for the one-pot synthesis of glycosyl benzoates directly from unprotected sugars in aqueous media using 2-chloro-1,3-dimethylimidazolium chloride (DMC), thiobenzoic acid, and triethylamine is reported. These glycosyl donors are excellent substrates for wild-type and mutant glycosidases. ß-Glucosyl benzoate was hydrolysed […]
European Journal of Organic Chemistry (2023): “Investigations into the Aqueous Synthesis of Selenoglycoconjugates”
Great achievement for Davey who is also co-corresponding author in this paper! Abstract: Glycosylation of bioactive molecules has been found to improve the pharmacokinetic properties of the parent molecule. However, their syntheses often require tedious protecting group manipulations. The development of methodologies which allow direct aqueous conversion of unprotected sugars into glycosides is therefore an […]
Frontiers in Catalysis (2023): “Sustainable synthesis of L-phenylalanine derivatives in continuous flow by immobilized phenyl ammonia lyase”
Great work from David in collaboration with Novartis! Abstract: The application of phenylalanine ammonia lyases (PALs) for the amination of a variety of cinnamic acids has been shown to be a cost-efficient method to produce a variety of phenylalanine analogues. Nonetheless, as many other biocatalytic tools, the process intensification, especially due to the high equivalents […]
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology (2023): “Halomonas elongata: a microbial source of highly stable enzymes for applied biotechnology”
A super review from Ana on the wonders of enzymes from H. elongata. Abstract: Extremophilic microorganisms, which are resistant to extreme levels of temperature, salinity, pH, etc., have become popular tools for biotechnological applications. Due to their availability and cost-efficacy, enzymes from extremophiles are getting the attention of researchers and industries in the field of […]
ChemBioChem (2023): “Bioinformatic analysis of immobilized enzymes: towards a better understanding of the guiding forces”
David applied CapiPy to a set of enzymes to validate its applicability. Abstract: Protein bioinformatics has been applied to a myriad of opportunities in biocatalysis, from enzyme engineering to enzyme discovery, but its application in enzyme immobilization is still very limited. Enzyme immobilization brings clear advantages form the sustainability and cost-efficiency terms but is nowadays […]
Nature Communication (2022): “Spheroplasts preparation boosts the catalytic 
Squalene-hopene cyclases are a highly valuable and attractive class of membrane-bound enzymes as sustainable biotechnological tools to produce aromas and bioactive compounds at industrial scale. However, their application as whole-cell biocatalysts suffer from the outer cell membrane acting as a diffusion barrier for the highly hydrophobic substrate/product, while the use of purified enzymes leads to […]
Chemical Communication (2022): “Novel triple mutant of an extremophilic glycosyl hydrolase enables the rapid synthesis of thioglycosides”
In order to expand the toolbox of enzymes available for thioglycoside synthesis, we describe here the first example of an extremophilic glycosyl hydrolase from Halothermothrix orenii (HorGH1) engineered towards thioglycosynthase activity with a novel combination of mutations. Using the triple mutant, HorGH1 M299R/E166A/E354G, a range of thioglycosides from glycosyl fluoride donors and aromatic thiols could be synthesised with […]
Green Chemistry (2022): “Combined chemoenzymatic strategy for sustainable continuous synthesis of the natural product hordenine”
First paper for Stefania! To improve sustainability, safety and cost-efficiency of synthetic methodologies, biocatalysis can be a helpful ally. In this work, a novel chemoenzymatic stategy ensures the rapid synthesis of hordenine, a valuable phenolic phytochemical under mild working conditions. In a two-step cascade, the immobilized tyrosine decarboxylase from Lactobacillus brevis (LbTDC) is here coupled with the […]
ChemBioChem (2022): “Fusion of Formate Dehydrogenase and Alanine Dehydrogenase as an Amino Donor Regenerating System Coupled to Transaminases”
Another paper from Valentina with the contribution of our master student Sopha and Ana. Abstract: A fusion protein combining alanine dehydrogenase and formate dehydrogenase has been successfully produced as a bifunctional enzyme. Two different genetic designs by swapping the position of both protein domains were developed, but one construct showed up to 2.5-fold higher enzymatic activity than […]
Catalysis Science & Technology (2022): “A novel thymidine phosphorylase to synthesize (halogenated) anticancer and antiviral nucleoside drugs in continuous flow”
Great work from Ana, Calvin and David! Abstract: Four pharmaceutically relevant nucleoside analogues (5-fluoro-2’-deoxyuridine, 5-chloro-2’-deoxyuridine, 5-bromo-2’-deoxyuridine, and 5-iodo-2’-deoxyuridine) have been synthesized by using a novel thymidine phosphorylase from H. elongata (HeTP). Following enzyme immobilization on microbeads, the biocatalyst was implemented as a packed-bed reactor for the continuous production of halogenated nucleosides, achieving up to 90% […]