Organic Chemistry Seminar: Professor Lionel Cheruzel, San Jose State University
Organic Chemistry Seminar: Professor Lionel Cheruzel, San Jose State University (Host: Justin Du Bois)
**This seminar is available for virtual attendance.**
About the Seminar
"Harnessing P450 biocatalysis with Ru(II)-diimine complexes"
Cytochrome P450s are heme-thiolate enzymes that activate molecular dioxygen to carry out selective C-H oxyfunctionalization on a wide range of organic substrates.1 Our laboratory has utilized the photochemical properties of Ru(II)-diimine complexes to activate several P450 enzymes upon visible light excitation.2 A combination of rational and directed evolution approaches has been employed to enhance the hybrid enzymes photocatalytic activity and expand their substrate scope. In addition, derivatization of the inorganic complexes promoted the formation of dimeric structures and heterogeneous biocatalysts and provided insights into the rate-limiting steps in the light-driven hybrid P450 enzymes.3 Recently, we turned our attention to the development of chemoenzymatic reactions by merging chemical catalysts with P450 biocatalysts. Building on a selective light-driven approach for the trifluoromethylation /oxyfunctionalization of several substituted arenes,4 we are developing a one-pot chemoenzymatic route to access various biaryl alkanoic acid derivatives.
References
1. Urlacher, V.B.; Girhard, M. Trends Biotechnol. 2019, 37, 882-897.
2. Tran, N. H.; Nguyen, D.; Dwaraknath, S.; Mahadevan, S.; Chavez, G.; Nguyen, A.; Dao, T.; Mullen, S.; Nguyen, T.A. ; Cheruzel, L.E. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 14484-7.
3. Eidenschenk, C.; Cheruzel L., J. Inorg. Biochem., 2020, 213, 111254-111266.
4. Sosa, V.; Melkie, M.; Sulca, C.; Li, J.; Tang, L.; Li, J.; Faris, J.; Foley, B.; Banh, T.; Kato, M.; Cheruzel, L. E., ACS Catal. 2018, 8, 2225-2229.
About the Speaker
Lionel Cheruzel grew up in Cannes, South of France, before moving to the United States in 1999 to pursue his graduate studies. Upon completion of his Ph.D. at the University of Louisville, KY, he joined as a postdoctoral fellow the laboratory of Prof. Harry B. Gray at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, CA. In Fall 2009, he started as an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at San Jose State University, CA. He received early tenure and promotion in 2014 and was promoted to professor in 2019. Dr. Cheruzel’s research interests center around the use of visible light to activate engineered P450 enzymes and perform selective oxyfunctionalization of various substrate C-H bonds. He was named the 2021 SJSU Outstanding Professor, received the 2019 Henry Dreyfus Teacher Scholar and the 2013 JBC Herbert Tabor Young Investigator Awards.
Image Credit: San Jose State University Website