U.S. Department of Eneryg/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory) Although many organisms capture and respond to sunlight, enzymes – proteins that catalyze biochemical reactions – are rarely driven by light. Scientists have identified only three types of natural photoenzymes so far. The newest one, discovered in 2017, is fatty acid photodecarboxylase (FAP). Derived from microscopic algae, it uses blue light to catalyze the conversion of fatty acids, found in fats and oils, into alkanes and alkenes.
“A growing number of labs envision using FAPs for green chemistry applications, because alkanes and alkenes are important components of solvents and fuels, including gasoline and jet fuels. And the transformation of fatty acids into alkanes or alkenes happens in a single step within the enzyme,” says Martin Weik, the leader of a research group at the Institute of Biologie Structurale at the Universite Grenoble Alpes.
DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Although many organisms capture and respond to sunlight, enzymes – proteins that catalyze biochemical reactions – are rarely driven by light. Scientists have identified only three types of natural photoenzymes so far. The newest one, discovered in 2017, is fatty acid photodecarboxylase (FAP). Derived from microscopic algae, it uses blue light to catalyze the conversion of fatty acids, found in fats and oils, into alkanes and alkenes.
“A growing number of labs envision using FAPs for green chemistry applications, because alkanes and alkenes are important components of solvents and fuels, including gasoline and jet fuels. And the transformation of fatty acids into alkanes or alkenes happens in a single step within the enzyme,” says Martin Weik, the leader of a research group at the Institute of Biologie Structurale at the Universite Grenoble Alpes.