ERC Advanced Grant for Prof. Roelfes
Prof. Gerard Roelfes has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant of EUR 2.5 million for his project ‘Designer enzymes featuring unnatural amino acids as catalytic residue’ (DENZUAC). In his project, Prof. Roelfes aims to create new ‘designer’ enzymes that feature unnatural amino acids as reactive group. For this, he will make use of technology that allows to expand the genetic code with unnatural amino acids. These novel enzymes will be applied for the catalysis of important chemical reactions that have no equivalent in nature.
Here is a summary of the proposal: Bio-catalysis, that is catalysis of chemical reactions by enzymes, is a key component of the transition to a more sustainable and ‘greener’ approach to Chemistry. However, natural enzymes catalyze only a limited set of reaction types, at least compared to what chemists can do. Part of this is related to the fact that natural enzymes are composed of only 20 amino acids, which limits the type of reactions they can do. The new enzymes created in this project will make it possible to carry out many more non-natural chemical reactions using bio-catalysis.
Last modified: | 31 March 2020 4.45 p.m. |
More news
-
28 March 2023
A leap of faith: from research to enterprise
Having ideas, experimenting and trying things out, wanting to change society. For many researchers, all of this is day-to-day business. But what if you want to take your idea to market? This is a step that often does not come naturally to...
-
14 February 2023
Lift to the inclusive workplace
There is plenty of work, and yet people with a disability are still often sidelined. One plus one is two, or so you’d think: this is the perfect time to help this group of workers find a job. The intention is there, also within the University, but...
-
15 December 2022
Groningen contributes to major research initiative into energy-efficient information technology
The Dutch science funding agency NWO recently awarded a large research project into new concepts for energy-efficient information technology of no less than ten million euros