Evaluation of Biocatalysis in Non-Aqueous Solvent Media Using Engineered Myoglobin Nanocontructs

Biocatalysis is the use of enzymes and proteins to perform chemical transformations. Enzymes and proteins are increasingly used in organic reactions due to excellent chemo-, regio- and stereo- selectivity, environmental sustainability, milder reaction conditions, improved productivity, simplified work-streams and greater economical saving potential. Currently, the majority of biocatalytic reactions use aqueous buffer solutions so that enzymes/proteins can exist in their biologically active form. However, there are a few disadvantages to using these aqueous solvents such as low solubility of organic compounds in aqueous medium, low turnover numbers, and solvent reagent incompatibility. In this experiment, we will evaluate the effect of non- aqueous solvent media (ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents) in enzyme/protein mediated organic transformations. In order to improve the efficiency of biocatalysis in non-aqueous media and to ensure the miscibility of the catalyst and the solvent, the engineered catalyst (Mb H64V V68A) was transformed to protein-polymer nanoconstructs