«A project that begins and ends in nature; and which looks to the future from a sustainable perspective.” With an ally like light for the production of essential molecules of daily life, the professor of the Industrial Chemistry department of the University of Bologna, Paolo Melchiorre, was selected with his project, called Photozyme, to receive from the European Research Council a loan of three million euros for the development of new photobiocatalytic tools.
Professor Melchiorre, what are the new features of the project that convinced the ERC?
«Photozyme, a name that derives from enzymes and light, essentially has two main focuses: construction of new molecular buildings and its methods. The use of light, through simple LEDs, has an extremely lower impact compared to classic molecule construction methodologies.”
At present, what are the predominantly used methods and why can we now talk about sustainable molecular synthesis?
«At the moment the most used methodologies are based on thermal energy. We synthetic chemists can be compared to little architects, with the task of constructing molecular buildings with different functions: ranging from drugs to materials, but all the objects in our lives have a molecular construction and a function. Up to this point we have concentrated on the creation of particularly complex molecules for highly specialized functions, but now we have understood that the time has come to also focus on the sustainability of construction methods: hence the transition from thermal energy to that of photons”.
Will this project also be able to count on sunlight?
«Now we use LED light, but the aim is to also use solar light. But there’s more.”
Meaning what?
«We will use low-cost, biodegradable or naturally occurring starting “bricks”. For example, fatty acids easily available in nature will be used. The enzymes that we will use will then be catalysts of natural origin.”
This technique could lead to new drugs: is it possible to give examples and explain how?
«Light leads to more efficient ways of constructing molecular buildings, which do not necessarily imply new functions, but our goal is also to identify new structures and new potential functions. We could arrive at new drugs, but also new fertilizers for specific crops, new components for electronics. However, all of this has a long-term perspective.”
What is the impact on people’s lives?
«The aspect of sustainability is central. One of the things that our scientific community struggles most to do is communicate how chemistry is linked to any object of everyday life: the computer, drugs. Synthetic chemistry surrounds us: it is therefore essential to find ways that are compatible with the environmental problems we are dealing with. We are totally involved in this ecological transition.”
