We are a group of researchers with an interest in applying enzymes in Green Chemistry applications. The objective is to explore new ways to synthesise materials using enzymes as catalysts (Biocatalysis). We are actively seeking collaborations in this area.
Green chemistry approaches are a priority for the environment and are rapidly replacing traditional chemical synthesis. There has been an explosion of interest in using enzymes in organic synthesis in recent years due to advances in enzyme stabilisation, enhanced access to recombinant proteins and the emergence of novel media such as Deep Eutectic Solvents. Using enzymes to replace traditional process offers many advantages such as low environmental impact, low energy input, and low cost.
Our current work involves an SFI-funded project (Green Chemistry Biocatalysis (GENESIS)) - a collaboration between the Applied Enzymology Group (AEG) at TU Dublin and the group of Dr Kieran Nolan at the School of Chemical Sciences at Dublin City University. This work is directed towards the synthesis of novel materials such as Alkyl Glycosides, Lipopeptides, neuroprotective glycosides and nucleotide glycosides. Another significant strand of our work concerns the application of cutinases in plastics recycling. All these processes will be implemented on Flow Chemistry platforms for production at scale.