CCI Phase I: NSF Center for Chemoenzymatic Synthesis

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

The Center for ChemoEnzymatic Synthesis (C-CES) is supported by the Centers for Chemical Innovation (CCI) Program in the Division of Chemistry. Enzymes are proteins that control and catalyze chemical reactions essential for life. Nature’s ability to employ these highly evolved biological catalysts to generate diverse and complex molecules through selective reactions has inspired chemists for decades and has led to the field of biocatalysis. The potential societal impacts of biocatalysis are significant, yet chemists have only recently begun to leverage these efficient and selective natural processes. C-CES seeks to develop unprecedented transformations and achieve new selectivity strategies by applying novel concepts in biocatalysis to sustainable making of chemicals, which are referred to as chemoenzymatic synthesis. These advances will allow the scientific community to address 21st-century challenges in the production of new medicines and materials. The broader impacts of the Center will focus on convergent, interdisciplinary education of early career scientists in chemoenzymatic synthesis, team building, and communication, all which will build the foundation for their independent careers. The Center will be at the forefront of developing and disseminating resources to integrate biocatalysis into broad practice across university and industrial settings, as well as in chemistry courses and laboratories. Finally, the Center will build up existing institutional resources of each team member to recruit, engage, and educate individuals from underrepresented groups, thereby broadening the impact of chemoenzymatic synthesis. C-CES will drive an unexplored frontier of organic synthesis by enabling new discoveries in biocatalysis and chemoenzymatic synthesis. The Center will focus on the grand challenge of creating new selective reactions for carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond formation in a sustainable manner by combining biocatalytic and bioinspired transformations with established chemical synthesis methodologies. Center activities will integrate fundamental concepts and past success of small molecule catalysis with the unique advantages of efficiency and selectivity control available through supramolecular protein-based catalysts. The Center will bring together internationally recognized scientists with complementary areas of expertise in catalysis, organic synthesis, chemoenzymatic synthesis, machine learning, high-throughput experimentation, protein engineering and biocatalysis. The two initial goals of the Center are the biocatalytic formation of high value C–C and C–X bonds and controlling selectivity outcomes currently unobtainable through conventional strategies. The realization of these efforts will be driven by a collaborative and convergent approach to experimental research and student training that combines state-of-the-art strategies for reaction development and biocatalyst design with machine learning and retrosynthesis planning. The Center will oversee coordinated training activities to ensure C-CES participants acquire diverse knowledge and techniques needed to master and then utilize biocatalysis in synthesis. The main broader impacts of this award include: a) the development of biocatalysis workshops to train future scientists on practical strategies and approach to chemoenzymatic synthesis; b) curriculum development around biocatalysis concepts for the broader chemical community; and c) public engagement regarding the sustainable applications of chemoenzymatic synthesis to access innovative materials that impact our everyday lives. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.