Objective
One pressing challenge of chemical research is to develop new processes that responsibly use natural resources to produce added-value chiral molecules. PHOTOZYME seeks to provide solutions by combining photocatalysis, biocatalysis, and organocatalysis. These three modern strategies offer powerful tools for the sustainable preparation of chiral molecules. To date, however, they have remained largely unconnected. This proposal aims to bridge these fields in order to address major problems in asymmetric synthesis for which there is no general solution with established methods.
Specifically, we will focus on native organocatalytic intermediates formed in the enzymes active sites, exploring their potential ability to reach an excited state upon visible light absorption and thus enable new-to-nature radical reactions. Here, light will be used to program entirely new mechanisms of catalysis within enzymes with an established ground-state reactivity, thus allowing them to catalyse completely different processes than those for which they evolved. The resulting photoenzymes will be powered by absorption of photons at each catalytic cycle and will serve to infer high enantioselectivity in important radical chemistries.
Our artificial photoenzymes will be applied in four challenge areas, each representing crucial yet unsolved synthetic problems. We will develop methods to convert simple feedstock chemicals (e.g. fatty acids) into chiral building blocks. Additionally, our goal is to control the formation of multiple stereocentres in intermolecular radical processes and at remote positions of linear substrates, objectives that are exceptionally difficult to achieve with existing small-molecule systems. We also envision the design of biocatalytic radical cascades for the rapid synthesis of biorelevant chiral scaffolds directly from abundant substrates.
Overall, we aim to provide new photobiocatalytic tools that drive the sustainable production of chiral molecules.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis photocatalysis
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis biocatalysis
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
- natural sciences physical sciences theoretical physics particle physics photons
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2023-ADG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
40126 Bologna
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.