ACS Catalysis 2026 Lectureship and Award Winners | ACS Publications Chemistry Blog

Learn more about the winners of the 2026 ACS Catalysis Lectureship for the Advancement of Catalytic Science.

axial.acs.org

Structural basis for substrate-dependent allostery in oxygen activation by a cytochrome P450 enzyme revealed by analysis at different temperatures

Cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes are ubiquitous and important monooxygenases whose archetypal reaction is to insert an oxygen atom from dioxygen into unactivated carbon–hydrogen bonds. They require the orchestrated delivery of electrons as well as protons from the solvent. The latter is controlled through an “acid–alc

pubs.rsc.org

Scalable and Stereoselective C–H Bond Hydroxylation of Steroids Using a Designer Heme-Thiolate Peroxygenase Biocatalyst

A challenging yet critical reaction in chemical synthesis is the selective activation of unactivated carbon–hydrogen bonds in complex molecules. Here we demonstrate the biocatalytic regio- and stereoselective hydroxylation of steroids, including progesterone, testosterone, adrenosterone, androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), using a variant of an engineered bacterial cytochrome P450 enzyme, CYP154C35 from Nocardia otitidiscaviarum. We replaced two amino acid residues within the oxygen-binding groove of the I-helix, and this modification of the acid-alcohol pair to a glutamine and a glutamate set of residues had the effect of converting the enzyme into an efficient peroxygenase (CYP154C35QE). This enzyme performed the biocatalytic oxidation of the steroids stereoselectively to form the 16α-hydroxylated metabolites. In the presence of a substrate, CYP154C35QE was stable to relatively high concentrations of H2O2 but could function catalytically using lower concentrations. The enzyme tolerated 20% DMSO and was not denatured upon being preheated for 1 h at 40 °C. The enzyme was capable of high turnover numbers (∼6500), resulting in complete conversion of the substrate, enabling the formation, purification, and characterization of the enantiopure 16α-hydroxylated steroids at up to 120 mg scale.

pubs.acs.org

The cytochrome P450 decarboxylase from Staphylococcus aureus can produce a diene from a C18 monounsaturated fatty acid: A spectroscopic, structural and kinetic characterisation

Certain members of the bacterial cytochrome P450 152 family (CYP152) are peroxygenases that catalyse the decarboxylation of fatty acids into terminal …

sciencedirect.com

The cytochrome P450 decarboxylase from Staphylococcus aureus can produce a diene from a C18 monounsaturated fatty acid: A spectroscopic, structural and kinetic characterisation

Certain members of the bacterial cytochrome P450 152 family (CYP152) are peroxygenases that catalyse the decarboxylation of fatty acids into terminal …

sciencedirect.com

Upcycling lignin with a controlled burn

A recent report by Harlington et al. introduces SyoA, a cytochrome P450 enzyme that efficiently removes a methyl group from the S-subunits of lignin. Lignin is one of the most abundant forms of renewa...

tinyurl.com

Structural insights into S-lignin O-demethylation via a rare class of heme peroxygenase enzymes - Nature Communications

This article demonstrates that native P450 peroxygenases with the in-built machinery for hydrogen peroxide utilisation exist; defines the molecular template for native P450 peroxygenase activity; and ...

nature.com

Upcycling lignin with a controlled burn

A recent report by Harlington et al. introduces SyoA, a cytochrome P450 enzyme that efficiently removes a methyl group from the S-subunits of lignin. Lignin is one of the most abundant forms of renewa...

cell.com

Characterisation of the thermophilic P450 CYP116B305 identified using metagenomics-derived sequence data from an Australian hot spring - Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Abstract Cytochrome P450 enzymes (P450s) have gained significant attention due to their remarkable ability to oxidise unactivated C-H bonds with high regio- and stereoselectivity. Their industrial uti...

doi.org

α-Synuclein and Dopamine Metabolites DOPAL and DOPAC: A Pathway to New Synthetic Neuromelanin Models

Melanin-protein-Fe conjugates serving as new synthetic analogues of brain neuromelanin were prepared by oxidative oligomerization of dopamine (DA) and its metabolites, 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl acetaldehyde...

sciltp.com

Evolutionary insights into the selectivity of sterol oxidising cytochrome P450 enzymes based on ancestral sequence reconstruction.

The cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme CYP125A1 is a crucial enzyme for the long-term survival and pathogenicity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. CYP125 genes are found not only in pathogenic mycobacteria but...

doi.org

Characterisation of the Self‐Sufficient Cytochrome P450 CYP116B234 From Rhodococcus globerulus and Its Suggested Native Role in 2‐Hydroxyphenylacetic Acid Metabolism

A self-sufficient P450 gene (CYP116B234) was identified from Rhodococcus globerulus, a soil-dwelling bacterium isolated from beneath an Eucalypt tree. CYP116B234 consists of heme and reductase domain...

doi.org

Comparing and Combining Alternative Strategies for Enhancing Cytochrome P450 Peroxygenase Activity

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (CYP) enzymes have advantageous properties over chemical catalysts. However, it is often not feasible to use CYPs in larger-scale synthesis as they require additional cof...

pubs.acs.org