Design and evolution of metalloenzymes for efficient and selective CO2 reduction

This project will create de novo enzymes for efficient and selective conversion of CO2 into CO and commodity chemicals, building from a first generation de novo CO2 reductase enzymes developed in the PI lab. Characterization of these de novo enzymes will provide a detailed understanding of the active site features and catalytic mechanisms controlling CO2 reduction and transformation to underpin the design of future generations of catalysts. These ambitions will be achieved by employing state-of-the-art methods in computational enzyme design, structural biology, genetic code expansion, directed evolution and biophysical enzyme characterization.