Design of artificial metalloenzymes

Homogeneous and enzymatic catalysis offer complementary means to generate enantiomerically pure compounds. For this reason, in a biomimetic spirit, efforts are currently under way in different groups to design artificial enzymes. Two complementary strategies are possible to incorporate active organometallic catalyst precursors into a protein environment. The first strategy utilizes covalent anchoring of the organometallic complexes into the protein environment. The second strategy relies on the use of non-covalent incorporation of the organometallic precursor into the protein. In this review, attention is focused on the use of semisynthetic enzymes to produce efficient enantioselective hybrid catalysts for a given reaction. This article also includes our recent research results and implications in developing the biotin–avidin technology to localize the biotinylated organometallic catalyst precursor within a well-defined protein environment.