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SUMMARY:Tales in Molecular Evolution: From Chiral Symmetry Breaking to N
 ew-to-Nature Biocatalysis
DTSTART:20230227T161500
DTEND:20230227T171500
DTSTAMP:20260920T110351Z
UID:31d720ece7c733a287a691b86c6d5489d66668e8628d0cba5eacc97f
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Dr Soumitra V. Athavale\, California Institute of Technology\,
  United States\nThe evolutionary journey of chemistry on our planet\, from
  small molecules to genetic polymers\, presents fascinating opportunities 
 for the organic chemist. At one end\, mysterious early steps evoke grand q
 uestions at the foundations of chemistry\, while at the other\, biology’
 s extraordinary machinery lies primed for creative manipulation.  \nAn il
 lustration of the former is the riddle of the origin of biological homochi
 rality\, inspiring the general query\, ‘can asymmetric synthesis transp
 ire without any chiral intervention’? The Soai reaction – diisopropyl
 zinc alkylation of pyrimidine carbaldehydes – remains a singular\, celeb
 rated example where this is possible and has received widespread attenti
 on from diverse chemical fields. I will present structural\, experimental\
 , and computational investigations which reveal the first comprehensive
  mechanistic picture of this iconic transformation. \nFor the latter case
 \, I will showcase how the principles of directed evolution can be applied
  to develop new enzymes for promoting processes never seen in nature. Th
 e engineering of heme proteins enables enantioselective catalysis of chall
 enging nitrene C–H insertion reactions for accessing nitrogen containin
 g compounds from feedstock chemicals. This example of ‘new-to-nature bio
 catalysis’ is emblematic of a modern age of protein biochemistry that pr
 omises to revolutionize the use of enzymes for molecular construction\n 
LOCATION:CM 1 4 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==CM%201%204
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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