The research of the Biotransformation and Biocatalysis group is aimed at obtaining insight in the enzymology of the microbial transformation of synthetic compounds, and the development of improved biocatalysts for such transformations. We study catalytic mechanisms, kinetic properties, and structure-function relationships in enzymes that can be used for regio- and enantioselective synthesis reactions for preparing fine chemicals. We also investigate enzymes involved in the biodegradation of environmental pollutants by microorganisms. Obtaining new enzymes by enrichment, genome mining, and high-throughput screening as well as their improvement by structure-inspired directed evolution are important parts of this work. Applications are developed in various programs with external partners.
