SEED FUND 3.0 - Project LignoPharm

From the valorisation of lignin to new pharmaceuticals

Summary

In LignoPharm, key steps of lignin valorization for phenazine synthesis have been investigated. Various plant sources were scanned for high ratios of desired G-lignin monomers by WP1. Reaction conditions for lignin extraction from biomass were optimized to meet the needs of WP2 and WP3 for low molecular weight fractions. Subsequently, samples of G-lignin rich fractions extracted from Miscanthus were provided to WP2.

Bis(µ-oxido) complexes functioning as catalyst species in the tyrosinase-like oxygenation reaction were synthesized by WP2. To optimize the reaction conditions for catalytic conversion of lignin samples provided by WP1, targeted synthesis of H- and G-lignin monomer units was successfully performed (WP2). As catalytic conversion of targeted formed H- and G-lignin monomers did not result in desired phenazine reaction products, reaction conditions for the conversion of lignin samples from WP1 have to be optimized.

A novel set of imine reductases (IREDs) displaying enzymatic activity towards a broad spectrum of imines was synthesized (WP3). Phenazine samples from the catalytic oxygenation of phenolic substrates provide by WP2 converted with the novel set of IREDs indicated a reduction to desired hydrophenazine products in ¹H NMR measurements. As desired hydrophenazines are presumed to be highly oxygen-sensitive, mass spectrometry (MS) measurements under oxygen-free conditions of samples provided by WP3 and purified by WP2 were performed. Thereby, the formation of one of the desired hydrophenazine products was verified. Further oxygen-free MS measurements are scheduled and optimization steps of the work-up process to ensure verification of all five hydrophenazines are planned.

SEED FUND 3.0 Project Coordinator

Prof. Dr. Sonja Herres-Pawlis
Bioinorganic Chemistry
RWTH Aachen
email: sonja.herres-pawlis[at]ac.rwth-aachen.de

Partners

Prof. Dr. Sonja Herres-Pawlis, Bioinorganic Chemistry, RWTH Aachen
Dr. Philipp M. Grande, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schurr, IBG-2 – Plant Sciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich
Prof. Dr. Lars Lauterbach, iAMB – Synthetic Microbiology, RWTH Aachen

Funding period

01.01.2024 - 31.12.2025

Funding

LignoPharm is part of the NRW-Strategieprojekt BioSC and thus funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia.