Unlocking the therapeutic potential of artificial metalloenzymes

Abstract

© 2019 by the authors. In order to harness the functionality of metals, nature has evolved over billions of years to utilize metalloproteins as key components in numerous cellular processes. Despite this, transition metals such as ruthenium, palladium, iridium, and gold are largely absent from naturally occurring metalloproteins, likely due to their scarcity as precious metals. To mimic the evolutionary process of nature, the field of artificial metalloenzymes (ArMs) was born as a way to benefit from the unique chemoselectivity and orthogonality of transition metals in a biological setting. In its current state, numerous examples have successfully incorporated transition metals into a variety of protein scaffolds. Using these ArMs, many examples of new-to-nature reactions have been carried out, some of which have shown substantial biocompatibility. Given the rapid rate at which this field is growing, this review aims to highlight some important studies that have begun to take the next step within this field; namely the development of ArM-centered drug therapies or biotechnological tools.