Enzyme mimic may be useful industrial catalyst

Abstract

Researchers in Belgium have developed a synthetic system that mimics the structure, function, and activity of cytochrome P450 enzymes. Cytochrome P450s play a key role in the body, catalyzing the oxidation of toxic compounds and assisting in the metabolism of steroids, vitamins, fatty acids, and other substances. Professor Peter A. Jacobs and coworkers in the department of interface chemistry at Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, have developed the first totally synthetic system that closely mirrors the function and catalytic rate of cytochrome P450 enzymes [ Nature , 370 , 541 (1994)]. The system has potential industrial applications for oxidizing alkanes to alcohols and for oxidizing alcohols to aldehydes and ketones, as well as for other oxidation reactions. The synthetic catalyst consists of iron phthalocyanine complexes encapsulated in zeolite crystals. The zeolite, in turn, is embedded in an elastomeric membrane. It's a new version of a ship-in-a-bottle system, says Jacobs. The iron phthaloc...