Novel Chemoenzymatic Approaches to 'Unnatural' Products

Many natural products of anticancer, antibiotic, antiparasitic and antiviral agents, amongst others, are biosynthesised in microorganisms by multifunctional enzymes, such as the polyketide synthases (PKSs) and the nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs). These naturally occurring 'molecular factories' are seen as the promising starting point for the development of chemoenzymatic routes towards the generation of 'unnatural' product- molecules that are still produced via biosynthesis but that are structurally different from the original products and may be of equal or superior value.
The aim of this PhD project is to develop novel chemoenzymatic approaches towards the in vitro generation of unnatural products: by utilising chemical tools and engineered enzymes/pathways, we aim at generating libraries of novel compounds of pharmaceutical and industrial interest.