01.07.24

Elucidating the Role of O2 Uncoupling for the Adaptation of Bacterial Biodegradation Reactions Catalyzed by Rieske Oxygenases

Microorganisms exposed to xenobiotics quickly adapt their enzymatic machinery. The evolution of these enzymes enables the degradation of new molecules that are structurally related to the original target substrates.

17.04.24

2024 EFMC Prize to Rebecca Buller

The European Federation for Medicinal Chemistry and Chemical Biology (EFMC) awards the 2024 EFMC Prize for a Young Medicinal Chemist or Chemical Biologist in Academia to Rebecca Buller.

11.03.24

Effective engineering of a ketoreductase for the biocatalytic synthesis of an ipatasertib precursor

In Communications Chemistry we report the evolution of a ketoreductase that catalyzes a key synthesis step - the reduction of the prochiral ketone to the desired (R,R)-trans alcohol intermediate - with high efficiency in an industrial set-up.

30.11.23

Swiss Green & Sustainable Chemistry Award 2024

This year’s award by the Swiss Chemical Society goes to Rebecca Buller for making enzyme catalysis easily and widely accessible for industrial use and an indispensable asset in moving toward a sustainable chemical industry in Switzerland and beyond.

28.11.23

From nature to industry – Harnessing enzymes for biocatalysis

A review article just published in the journal "Science" by Rebecca Buller and colleagues from the field of biocatalysis gives an overview of the achievements of the last five years and an outlook on future research and applications in this field.

14.09.23

Anthocyanins made by baker’s yeast

Anthocyanins are responsible for the bright colors of many flowers. In our publication in Nature Catalysis, we show that it is possible to engineer baker's yeast to produce anthocyanins.

18.07.23

Halogenases for the synthesis of small molecules

We are happy to share our latest publication on enzymatic halogenation – a rapidly developing tool for synthetic chemistry.

13.07.23

Improving Enzyme Fitness with Machine Learning

A new publication from the Buller-Lab looks at how machine learning can be used to support enzyme engineering

20.10.22

2022 Young Talents Fellowship to Nicolas Imstepf

Congratulations to Nicolas Imstepf for receiving a Young Talents Fellowship from NCCR Catalysis to conduct his Master thesis with the group of Rebecca Buller at the ZHAW.

21.09.22

Biocatalysis and the Production of Flavor Compounds

The biocatalytic reduction of activated alkenes by ene reductases offers an bio-based alternative to metal- or organocatalyzed double bond reduction. In our recent publication, we describe a new biocatalytic process to reduce 2E-decenal.

30.08.22

ZHAW chemistry student wins Lab Science Award for his Bachelor's thesis on identifying new enzymes

Chemistry student Kevin Yar received the Lab Science Award 2022 for his Bachelor's thesis. The award is presented by the Toolpoint for Lab Science association and is endowed with CHF 8,000. Yar’s thesis addresses the search for new enzymes that could…

19.01.22

Our first publication in 2022 now online in Nature Communications

Employing algorithm-aided enzyme engineering, we tailor the (Fe(II)/ a-KG) halogenase WelO5* to functionalize bulky polyketides.

06.01.22

CCBIO Publication featured on the Front Cover of the Journal “Angewandte Chemie”

A recent work by the CCBIO-group on the use of engineered squalene-hopene cyclases for the synthesis of fragrance molecules is featured on the front cover of “Angewandte Chemie”.

10.11.21

An Enzymatic Strategy for the Asymmetric Synthesis of Ionones by Engineered Squalene-Hopene Cyclases published in “Angewandte Chemie”

Ionones are important components of the scent of flowers and fruits. The development of new synthesis routes for the production of optically pure compounds is therefore of great interest.

28.06.21

Master of Science FH Prize 2021 of the Schweizerischer Verband dipl. Chemiker FH (SVC) for Jan Taublitz

During a Master of Science in Chemistry at the ZHAW, Jan specialized in "Chemistry for the Life Sciences" and completed his Master’s Thesis under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Rebecca Buller and Dr. Fabian Meyer.

21.06.21

The halogenase toolbox is growing: Re-programming and optimization of a L-proline cis-4-hydroxylase for the cis-3-halogenation of its native substrate

Over 5000 halogenated natural products are described and around 25% of small molecular drugs are halogenated. Thus, strategies are needed to incorporate halogens in a selective and sustainable way.

17.05.21

Just published in ACS Catalysis: Modulating Chemoselectivity in a Fe(II)/α-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase for the Oxidative Modification of a Nonproteinogenic Amino Acid

Fe(II)/ α-KGDs are valuable tools for region- and stereoselective derivatization of non-native substrates to pharmacological relevant small molecules.

29.03.21

Congratulations to our BSc student Nicolas Imstepf for finishing second at the toolpoint Lab Sciences Award 2021

Nicolas Imstepf was winning the second prize for his Bachlor of Science thesis «Bioinformatische Identifikation neuer Halogenasen».

18.03.21

12th Day of Life Sciences hosts 3rd CCBIO Symposium on «Industrial Biocatalysis» on June 10th, 2021

Join as for a new edition of our CCBIO Symposium on «Industrial Biocatalysis» with speakers from industry and academia, from Switzerland and abroad - this year online.

26.02.21

A Ketoreductase Library for the Synthesis of Pharmaceutical-relevant Alcohols

Off-the-shelf enzyme libraries allow fast screening for suitable readily available biocatalyst candidates and thus increase the competitiveness of biocatalytic reaction steps in chemical process development.