University Chemistry ›› 2025, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (10): 121-129.doi: 10.12461/PKU.DXHX202411054

• Survey of Chemistry • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Enzyme-Directed Evolution Enables Bioconversion of Organosilicon Compounds

Yerong Chen, Bingbin Yang, Xinglei He, Yuqi Lin, Keyin Ye   

  1. College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, China
  • Received:2024-11-19 Accepted:2025-02-11 Published:2025-09-17
  • Contact: Yuqi Lin, Keyin Ye E-mail:kyye@fzu.edu.cn;Linyuqi@fzu.edu.cn

Abstract: Owing to their unique physicochemical properties, organosilicon compounds have found widespread applications in various fields such as electronics, materials science, and pharmaceuticals. However, biological systems typically cannot synthesize or convert most organosilicon compounds under natural conditions, making chemical methods the conventional approach for their synthesis and transformation. In a landmark achievement, Professor Frances H. Arnold, recipient of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and her research team successfully achieved biocatalytic conversion of these non-natural compounds through enzyme-directed evolution. This review systematically examines the team’s research progress in organosilicon compound synthesis and transformation, analyzes the underlying reaction mechanisms, and discusses relevant applications. Our aim is to enhance understanding in this field and facilitate further research in biocatalysis.

Key words: Organosilicon compounds, Enzyme, Directed evolution, Biocatalysis