Expanding nature's catalytic repertoire to include reactions important in synthetic chemistry will open new opportunities for 'green' chemistry and biosynthesis. We demonstrate enzyme-catalyzed insertion of carbenoids into N-H bonds. This type of bond disconnection, which has no counterpart in nature, can be mediated by variants of the cytochrome P450 from Bacillus megaterium. The N-H insertion...

Methods for imine trifluoromethylation are of great importance because amines with trifluoromethylated stereogenic centers are useful building blocks for synthetic chemistry and drug discovery. Herein, we describe a new copper(II)-catalyzed imine trifluoromethylation method without the use of Lewis base activators, presumably through cooperative activation.

Figure 1. Process chart of feedback-driven hit generation. A random selection of molecules from the database initiates a cycle containing an assay, a learning and prediction step, and a selection of a new subset from the database. In case of an experimental in vitro assay, the selected compounds have to be synthesised. An in silico screening process avoids the rate-limiting step of chemical syn...

The prospects for protein engineering, including the roles of x-ray crystallography, chemical synthesis of DNA, and computer modelling of protein structure and folding, are discussed. It is now possible to attempt to modify many different properties of proteins by combining information on crystal structure and protein chemistry with artificial gene synthesis. Such techniques offer the potential...

During the last two decades synthetic chemistry and molecular biology have transformed the little-known parturition-mediating factor relaxin into a chemically defined entity. Relaxin is a disulfide bond analog of insulin that shows no cross-reactivity to the insulin receptors, causes widening of the birth canal in most mammals, and has additional or different functions in various species. The r...

This review article summarizes efforts to use nitrous oxide (N2O, 'laughing gas') as a reagent in synthetic chemistry. The focus will be on reactions which are carried out in homogeneous solution under (relatively) mild conditions. First, the utilization of N2O as an oxidant is discussed. Due to the low intrinsic reactivity of N2O, selective oxidation reactions of highly reactive compounds are ...

Organic chemistry has been, and for the foreseeable future will remain, vitally important for crop protection. Control of fungal pathogens, insect pests and weeds is crucial to enhanced food provision. As world population continues to grow, it is timely to assess the current situation, anticipate future challenges and consider how new chemistry may help meet those challenges. In future, agricul...

This review summarizes the application of the divinylcyclopropane-cycloheptadiene rearrangement in synthetic organic chemistry. A brief overview of the new mechanistic insights concerning the title reaction is provided as well as a condensed account on the biological relevance of the topic. Heteroatom variants of this rearrangement are covered briefly.

Peptide synthesis has been developed into one of the most efficient synthetic procedures in organic chemistry. The problems of orthogonal functional group protection and amide bond formation without racemization have been developed in a number of ingenious strategies. Optimization, in particular, has been achieved in stepwise solid phase synthesis. This in turn made possible the development of ...

In the field of self-assembly, the quest for gaining control over the supramolecular architecture without affecting the functionality of the individual molecular building blocks is intrinsically challenging. By using a combination of synthetic chemistry, cryogenic transmission electron microscopy, optical absorption measurements, and exciton theory, we demonstrate that halogen exchange in carbo...