Special Seminar - Dr. Serge Ruccolo, Merck

Date: 

Monday, September 19, 2022, 4:30pm to 5:30pm

Location: 

Pfizer Lecture Hall

Talk Title: "Electrochemical Recycling of Adenosine Triphosphate in Biocatalytic Cascades." ABSTRACT: Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) provides the driving force necessary for critical biological functions in all living organisms. In synthetic biocatalytic reactions, this cofactor is recycled in situ using high-energy stoichiometric reagents, an approach that generates waste and poses challenges with enzyme stability. On the other hand, an electrochemical recycling system would use electrons as a cheap and green source of energy. We developed a method that uses electricity to turn over enzymes for ATP generation in a simplified cellular respiration mimic. The method is simple, robust, and scalable, as well as broadly applicable to complex enzymatic processes including a four-enzyme biocatalytic cascade in the synthesis of the antiviral molnupiravir.

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