Research overview

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Our lab is focusing on advanced biocatalysis. The main goal of our lab is to develop novel biocatalysts for sustainable production of chiral molecules and active pharmaceutical ingredients with high selectivity and efficiency.

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Nature has evolved enzymes to catalyze biochemical reactions essential for life. Since decades enzyme catalysis has gained impetus in organic/asymmetric synthesis in the manufacture of diverse chemicals. Biocatalysts have emerged as green and sustainable catalysts for synthetic technologies due to their extraordinary chemo, regio and stereoselectivity. However, their synthetic scope is often found to be inadequate in the synthesis of non-natural molecules due to poor selectivity, and/or lack of ability to catalyze chemical reactions that are new to nature. Most often both of these situations demand engineering of the enzyme to obtain the desired biocatalysts.

Our group is working on laboratory evolution of enzymes using various protein engineering techniques including directed evolution aiming to enhance their biocatalytic properties and explore their catalytic synthetic potentials. We integrate protein engineering and organic chemistry toward the synthesis of industrially important chiral intermediates. We apply tailor-made enzymes in the synthesis of fine chemicals, stereoselective products, active pharmaceutical intermediates, and for other industrial and biotechnological applications

We also aim to understand the molecular insights of catalytic mechanism, promiscuous activity and stereoselectivity exhibited by the enzymes in the studied biotransformations. These understandings help us to design and develop tailor made enzymes for industrial applications.

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​Probing the mechanism of anti diastereoselectivity of Arabidopsis thaliana hydroxynitrile lyase variant catalyzed promiscuous Henry reaction

 

The two major themes of our current research on enzyme catalysis are

1. Enzyme promiscuity: Uncovering the promiscuous activity of natural and engineered enzymes for different organic transformations. Development of new enzymatic strategies for existing organic transformations.

 

 

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​Engineered Arabidopsis thaliana hydroxynitrile lyase variants displaying promiscuous enantioselective nitroaldolase activity

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​Promiscuous nitroaldolase activity of engineered Arabidopsis thaliana hydroxynitrile lyase variants exhibit excellent synthetic scope and diastereoselectivity.

 

2. Cascade biocatalysis: Development of new approaches alternative to synthetic organic transformations to synthesize stereoselective products using cascade of enzymes from easily availed substrates.

 

 

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​​Functionalization of the sp3 C-H bond of inexpensive, stable, and readily available benzylic alcohols in the production of value-added chiral intermediates in one pot