ABSTRACT
Invited for this month's cover is the joint research group of Prof. Chan Beum Park at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Prof. Chul-Ho Yun at the Chonnam National University (CNU). The image shows how the use of a natural photosensitizer, flavin mononucleotide, and visible light can lead to a cost-effective, green, and sustainable process for P450-catalyzed reactions in a whole-cell system. The Communication itself is available at 10.1002/cssc.202100944.
Subject(s)
Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System/chemistry , Flavin Mononucleotide/chemistry , Photosensitizing Agents/chemistry , Catalysis , Chlorzoxazone/chemistry , Escherichia coli/metabolism , Hydroxylation , Light , Nitrophenols/chemistry , Oxidation-Reduction , Photosynthesis , Solar EnergyABSTRACT
Photobiocatalysis is a green platform for driving redox enzymatic reactions using solar energy, not needing high-cost cofactors and redox partners. Here, a visible light-driven whole-cell platform for human cytochrome P450 (CYP) photobiocatalysis was developed using natural flavins as a photosensitizer. Photoexcited flavins mediate NADPH/reductase-free, light-driven biocatalysis by human CYP2E1 both inâ vitro and in the whole-cell systems. In vitro tests demonstrated that the photobiocatalytic activity of CYP2E1 is dependent on the substrate type, the presence of catalase, and the acid type used as a sacificial electron donor. A protective effect of catalase was found against the inactivation of CYP2E1 heme by H2 O2 and the direct transfer of photo-induced electrons to the heme iron not by peroxide shunt. Furthermore, the P450 photobiocatalysis in whole cells containing human CYPs 1A1, 1A2, 1B1, and 3A4 demonstrated the general applicability of the solar-powered, flavin-mediated P450 photobiocatalytic system.