Center for Biomolecular Structure Lecture Series

Metalloenzymes catalyze complex reactions with unprecedented efficiency. These enzymes are promising candidates for various biotechnological applications, including producing alternative fuels and pharmaceuticals. Oftentimes, the innate complexity of these metalloenzymes prohibits a true appreciation of their full capability and a detailed understanding of their structure-function relationships. One approach to alleviating this issue is to design artificial metalloenzymes (ArMs) that still contain the metal of interest in a biomolecular environment, allowing the chemistry to be performed in aqueous media. The protein scaffold prevents unwanted side reactions. In addition, the protein environment allows one to alter outer sphere interactions to fine-tune their reorganization energies and reactivity. In this seminar, I will present two complementary approaches to designing Ni and Cu-containing ArMs – artificial hydrogenases and artificial C-H peroxidation catalysts utilizing protein reengineering and de novo protein design approaches.