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On-off catalyst mimics enzyme function
A monometallic catalytic site is buried in the middle layer of a triple-layer complex which can be opened and closed by small molecules to reversibly expose and conceal the catalytic centre © Science
US and Japanese researchers have created an enzyme-like catalyst whose activity can be switched on or off using small molecules. Their work provides proof of principle for a dynamic catalyst system that could be applied in many industrially important reactions, as well as in medical diagnostics.
Developed by Chad Mirkin at Northwestern University, Illinois, and colleagues, the synthetic supramolecular complex is designed to catalyse the polymerisation of a cyclic ester called ?-caprolactone. What's important though, says Mirkin, is the concept - using allosteric regulation to alter the structure of the complex, thus exposing a buried active site when it is activated. The researchers achieved this by incorporating 'hinges' that swing open when chloride ions bind at an allosteric site and snap shut when a chloride withdrawing agent is added. More...
http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2010/October/01101001.asp
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