Möbius Artificial Enzymes

Chiral molecules are ubiquitous to biological systems and are of paramount importance in many disciplines. Among the various types of chirality, that inherent to Möbius topology remains almost unexplored, partly due to the difficulty to access Möbius compounds. Harnessing a new stereogenic element will open incommensurable perspectives at both fundamental and applied levels. The MOBAZM project aims at the achievement of first an artificial Möbius-based catalyst exhibiting stereoselective transformation, second of a “Möbius Artificial Enzyme”. To tackle this challenge, a consortium of two complementary teams will work during four years on (i) the design of novel Möbius hexaphyrin metal complexes, (ii) the evaluation of their reactivity in kinetic resolution processes, and (iii) their interaction with enzyme scaffolds. This approach is at the cutting-edge of both Möbius rings and porphyrinoids research fields and opens new horizons in the field of asymmetric catalysis.