Bionic Catalyst Design: A Photochemical Approach to Artificial Enzyme Function

To mimic the regulation mechanisms and the selective chemistry of enzymes in the absence of a protein environment, a novel bio-inspired catalyst design strategy is applied with photosensitive coordination compounds acting as photocatalytic artificial enzymes (photozymes). As an example, a robust synthetic oxidoreductase photozyme is described (see reaction scheme; M=Sb) and its efficiency is compared to that of native enzymes and other functional model compounds.