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Chemical biology

A radical change in enzyme catalysis

A method has been devised that allows a ketoreductase enzyme to catalyse reactions other than its natural ones. The key is to excite the enzyme's cofactor using light – an approach that might work for other enzymes. See Letter p.414

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Figure 1: Non-natural reactions catalysed by enzymes.

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Correspondence to Uwe T. Bornscheuer.

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Bornscheuer, U. A radical change in enzyme catalysis. Nature 540, 345–346 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/540345a

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