Integrated Biochemo-catalysis for Asymmetric Arylation

The integration of chemo- and biocatalysis offers a sustainable approach to making molecules which enables waste-free synthesis, catalytic or metal-free alternatives to current reagents, and a new way of building up molecular complexity whilst simplifying process complexity and cost. Approaching synthesis from this perspective will be critical to future chemistry, where all inter-related factors (reagents, solvent, yields, intermediates, catalysts etc) can be systemically optimized for the best synthetic route. The challenges, however, are substantial - how can we create mutually compatible reaction conditions for both enzymes and chemo systems, given the often vastly different requirements (notably of temperature and solvent)?
The integration of chemocatalysis and biocatalysis represents an emerging area of research that will be central to the future chemical and manufacturing industries, activities that are crucial to the welfare and operation of our society. The two regimes of catalysis are highly complementary, with chemocatalysis offering powerful C-C bond strategies that can be merged with asymmetric functional group transformations controlled by an enzyme - an approach that is inspired by the ideality of biosynthesis. Arylation without recourse to precious metal catalysis is challenging and highly influential to current thinking in chemistry, creating high impact publications for the iCAT student engaged on the project.
The project will provide training in areas such as biocatalysis, photoredox catalysis, organocatalysis, protein expression and purification, biological assay, asymmetric synthesis, and aqueous chemistry, meeting the mission statement of the CDT to create the next generation of scientist who can operate across the chemical continuum and is equipped for future Leadership roles in a changing, agile industry. The project has grown from a long-standing collaboration between the Greaney and Turner laboratories in integrated catalysis that has produced advances in bio-redox and C-H arylation, providing a supportive framework of co-workers, equipment and ideas in which the iCAT student can realise the ambitious goals of the research. Both the Turner and Greaney groups collaborate extensively with industrial groups (e.g. Syngenta, AZ, GSK) around the arylation and biocatalysis transformation concepts set out in the proposal, bringing end-user interactions to the project and helping the student create a scientific network in the early stages of their research career.

iCAT will work with industry partners to create an holistic approach to the training of students in biocatalysis, chemocatalysis, and their process integration. Traditional graduate training typically focuses on one aspect of catalysis and this approach can severely restrict innovation and impact. Advances in technology and fundamental reaction discovery are rendering this silo-approach obsolete, and a new training modality is needed to produce the next generation of chemists and engineers who can operate across a far broader chemical continuum. iCAT will meet this challenge with a state-of-the-art CDT, equipping the next generation of scientists and engineers with the skills needed to develop future catalytic processes and create the functional molecules of tomorrow.

The UK has one of the world's top-performing chemical industries, achieving outstanding levels of growth, exports, productivity and international investment. The UK's chemical industry is a significant provider of jobs and creator of wealth, with a turnover in excess of £50 billion and a contribution of over £15 Billion of value to the UK economy [2015 figures]. iCAT will deliver highly skilled people to lead this industry across its various sectors, achieving impact through the following actions:

1. Equip the next generation of science and engineering leaders with the interdisciplinary skills and knowledge needed to work across the bio and chemo catalytic remit and build the functional molecules we need to structure society.

2. Provide a highly skilled workforce and research base, skilled in the latest methodologies, strategies and techniques of catalysis and engineering that is crucial for the UK's Chemical Industry.

3. Build the critical mass necessary to support effective cohort-based training in a world-class research environment.

4. Develop and disseminate new catalytic technologies and processes that will be taken up by industrial and academic teams around the world.

5. Encourage Industry to promote research challenges within the CDT that are of core relevance to their business.

6. Provide cohesion in the integration of biocatalysis, engineering and chemocatalysis to create a more unified voice for strategic dialogue with industry, funders and policy makers, and more generally outreach and public engagement.

7. Draw-in and bring together Industrial partners to facilitate future Industrial collaborations.

8. Benefit Industrial scientists through interactions with the CDT (e.g. training and supervisory experience, exposure to cutting-edge synthesis and catalysis etc).

9. Link with other activities in the landscape: bringing unique expertise in catalysis to, for example, externally-funded University-led initiatives, EPRSC Grand Challenge Networks, and the National Catalysis Hub.