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SUMMARY:Biotransformation: learning Nature's art of unmaking drugs to sust
 ainably make new drugs - Godwin Aleku 
DTSTART:20211015T170000Z
DTEND:20211015T180000Z
UID:TALK163906@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Gabrielle Davidson
DESCRIPTION:Biological systems of the human body as well as those of other
  living organisms are vastly experienced in the art of making biological m
 olecules with utmost precision. They often employ enzymes as biological ca
 talysts (biocatalysts) to construct simple to complex essential organic (b
 io)molecules. Importantly\, when challenged with synthetic compounds such 
 as pharmaceutical drugs or xenobiotics\, there are specialized enzymatic s
 ystems to unmake and eliminate these drugs. This process involves efficien
 t and selective enzymatic modification (biotransformation) of important st
 ructural component(s) of the foreign compounds\, often making them inactiv
 e and readily excretable. The intriguing chemistry associated with this pr
 ocess as well as the chemical transformations catalysed by these enzymes a
 re of great relevance in synthetic organic chemistry and can be developed 
 and exploited for sustainable pharmaceutical synthesis. In this lecture\, 
 using examples from our lab\, I will highlight the power of biocatalysis (
 enzymatic synthesis) in the sustainable synthesis of pharmaceutical drugs 
 with a particular emphasis on chiral amine-based pharmaceuticals.   
LOCATION:Gatsby Room\, Wolfson College
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