Speaker:
Title:
Enzyme Evolution for Unnatural Porphyrin Synthesis
Abstract:
Porphyrins are cyclic molecules reliably created by biology with tunable catalytic and optical properties.However, chemical synthesis challenges limit their
industrial application.
We work to leverage Porphobilinogen Deaminase and synthetic chemistry to create unnatural porphyrins. Its promiscuity on synthetic
substrates is mapped by an in vitro assay with optical and MS readouts. Evolution is pursued to alter PBGD promiscuity.
Enzymatic synthesis of porphyrins can improve function and cost-effectiveness of revolutionary technologies.