MetBioCat
ERC Advanced Grant Project

News

Please find below all relevant news regarding our Group.
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Congrats to Joan, on his successful PhD defense

07/14/2022
Joan Miguel Ávila has defended today his PhD Thesis at the Faculty of Chemistry, USC

Joan Miguel Ávila is our brand new Doctor in the group, after defending his PhD entitled "Transition Metal-Catalyzed Annulations in Biological Media".


This PhD work, supervised by Prof. Mascareñas and Dr. Tomás-Gamasa, has received the highest qualification by the jury committee.

Congrats Joan!!!


External link: https://twitter.com/MetBioCat/status/1547901384208461825

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Our first book chapter of 2002, at the 'Handbook of CH-Functionalization', is already on-line

07/06/2022
Glad to announce this book chapter, part of the volumen 7 "Biocatalysis and Asymmetric Catalysis", is already available

We are so happy to share here that we have contributed to Volume 7: "Biocatalysis and Asymmetric Catalysis" of the 'Handbook of CH-Functionalization' with a book chapter entitled "Transition Metal-Catalyzed Desymmetrizations Based on C-H Activation Processes".
This one is authored by X. Vidal, M. Font, M. Gulias and J. L. Mascarenas, and already available through the book website.

Abstract: The relevance of chiral pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals has encouraged the development of synthetic methods that allow the preparation of these products in enantioselective form. Of the different strategies, those relying on the metal-catalyzed enantioselective activation of C-H bonds are especially appealing, owing to their step and atom economy. This is particularly the case in desymmetrization approaches, because of the simplicity of the reactants, and their intrinsic complexity increase characteristics. This article reviews the current state of the art on transition metal-catalyzed desymmetrizing functionalizations involving enantiodetermining C-H activation steps.


External link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/9783527834242.chf0138

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Two in a row!! A second publication in collaboration with Prof. E. Vázquez is also on-line

06/23/2022
Extremely happy to announce the second 2022 collaborative paper is already published

We are really glad to share this second 2022 collaborative paper, published at Commun. Chem., has been already accepted and it's available through the journal website. The communication is entitled "Controlling oncogenic KRAS signaling pathways with a Palladium-responsive peptide" and authored by S. Learte-Aymamí, P. Martin-Malpartida, L. Roldán-Martín, G. Sciortino, J. R. Couceiro, J.-D. Maréchal, M. J. Macias, J. L. Mascareñas and M. E. Vázquez.

Abstract: RAS oncoproteins are molecular switches associated with critical signaling pathways that regulate cell proliferation and differentiation. Mutations in the RAS family, mainly in the KRAS isoform, are responsible for some of the deadliest cancers, which has made this protein a major target in biomedical research. Here we demonstrate that a designed bis-histidine peptide derived from the αH helix of the cofactor SOS1 binds to KRAS with high affinity upon coordination to Pd(II). NMR spectroscopy and MD studies demonstrate that Pd(II) has a nucleating effect that facilitates the access to the bioactive α-helical conformation. The binding can be suppressed by an external metal chelator and recovered again by the addition of more Pd(II), making this system the first switchable KRAS binder, and demonstrates that folding-upon-binding mechanisms can operate in metal-nucleated peptides. In vitro experiments show that the metallopeptide can efficiently internalize into living cells and inhibit the MAPK kinase cascade.






External link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s42004-022-00691-7

Our most recent collaboration is already on-line at Chem. Commun.

06/22/2022
So glad to announce our first 2022 collaborative paper is already published

We are very happy to share our Chem. Commun. paper in collaboration with Vázquez & Vázquez research group, among others, has been accepted and it's already available through the journal website. This work is entitled "Selective recognition of A/T-rich DNA 3-way junctions with a three-fold symmetric tripeptide" and authored by J. Gomez-Gonzalez, L. Martinez-Castro, J. Tolosa-Barrilero, A. Alcalde-Ordoñez, S. Learte-Aymamí, J. L. Mascareñas, J. C. García-Martínez, J. Martínez-Costas, J.-D. Maréchal, M. Vázquez and E. Vázquez.

Abstract: Non-canonical DNA structures, particularly 3-Way Junctions (3WJs) that are transiently formed during DNA replication, have recently emerged as promising chemotherapeutic targets. Here, we describe a new approach to target 3WJs that relies on the cooperative and sequence-selective recognition of A/T-rich duplex DNA branches by three AT-Hook peptides attached to a three-fold symmetric and fluorogenic 1,3,5-tristyrylbenzene core.





External link: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2022/CC/D2CC02874C

Congrats to Borja, on his successful PhD defense

06/10/2022
Borja Cendón Mariño has defended today his PhD Thesis at the Faculty of Chemistry, USC

Borja Cendón Mariño is our brand new Doctor in the group, after defending his PhD entitled "Assembly of azaheterocycles via transition metal-catalyzed annulations involving the activation of C-H bonds".

This PhD work, supervised by Prof. Mascareñas and Prof. Gulías, has received the highest qualification by the jury committee.

Congrats Borja!!!


External link: https://twitter.com/ciqususc/status/1535246221882834948

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Congratulations to Daniel Marcos, who has been granted with a 2022 Fulbright Predoctoral Research Grant

06/09/2022
We are so happy to announce our PhD candidate has been granted among hundreds of students with one of the fifteen 2022 Fulbright scholarship

We are really glad for sharing that Daniel Marcos Atanes, PhD candidate at our research group, is one of the seven selected candidates (among hundreds at the general program) for the 2022 Fulbright Predoctoral Research Grants for research stays at the United States. This highly competitive scholarship will allow him to join the research group of the prestigious chemist John Hartwig at the University of California at Berkeley, a major institution in USA, for the second half of this 2022.

Wishing you the best days at California, Dani!





External link: https://www.usc.es/ciqus/en/news/ciqus-phd-student-daniel-marcos-wins-one-seven-national-fulbright-grants-stays-abroad

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Congratulations to Soraya Learte, who received the Honorable Mention for the 2022 IUPAC-Solvay International Award for Young Chemists

05/18/2022
Our group member has received her awarded PhD in April 2021

We are celebrating today the great success of Dr. Soraya Learte, who has been awarded with one of the threee honorable metions of the 2022 IUPAC-Solvay International Award for Young Chemists. The award is a consequence of her commitment and also her stunning results during her doctoral studies at our research group. Her PhD thesis is entitled "Metallopeptides and Metalloproteins in Chemical Biology: from DNA Binding to Intracellular Catalysis".

During her PhD studies, Soraya has mainly worked in the design, synthesis, and application of metallopeptides and metalloproteins within the area of Chemical Biology.






External link: https://iupac.org/winners-of-the-2022-iupac-solvay-international-award-for-young-chemists/

A brand new review at Chemical Science is already on-line

05/16/2022
Happy to announce our last review regarding "Organometallic Catalysis in Aqueous and Biological Environments" is already at the journal website

We are very glad to share here that our review at Chem. Sci., entitled "Organometallic Catalysis in Aqueous and Biological Environments: Harnessing the Power of Metal Carbenes" and authored by S. Gutiérrez, M. Tomás and J. L. Mascarenas, is already available through the journal website.

Abstract: Translating the power of transition metal catalysis to the native habitats of enzymes can significantly expand the possibilities of interrogating or manipulating natural biological systems, including living cells and organisms. This is especially relevant for organometallic reactions that have shown great potential in the field of organic synthesis, like the metalcatalyzed transfer of carbenes. While, at first sight, performing metal carbene chemistry in aqueous solvents, and especially in biologically relevant mixtures, does not seem obvious, in recent years there have been a growing number of reports demonstrating the feasibility of the task. Either using small molecule metal catalysts or artificial metalloenzymes, a number of carbene transfer reactions that tolerate aqueous and biorelevant media are being developed. This review intends to summarize the most relevant contributions, and establish the state of the art in this emerging research field.


External link: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2022/sc/d2sc00721e

Our first review for 2022 is already on-line

04/28/2022
Pleased to announce our review paper at Eur J. Org. Chem. has been accepted, and it's already available through the publisher website

We are so happy to announce here that our review article at EurJOC, entitled "Exporting Homogeneous Transition Metal Catalysts to Biological Habitats" and authored by A. Seoane and J. L. Mascarenas has been accepted and it's already on-line.

Abstract: The possibility of performing designed transition-metal catalyzed reactions in biological and living contexts can open unprecedented opportunities to interrogate and interfere with biology. However, the task is far from obvious, in part because of the presumed incompatibly between organometallic chemistry and complex aqueous environments.  Nonetheless, in the past decade there has been a steady progress in this research area, and several transition-metal (TM)-catalyzed bioorthogonal and biocompatible reactions have been developed. These reactions encompass a wide range of mechanistic profiles, which are very different from those used by natural metalloenzymes. Herein we present a summary of the latest progress in the field of TM-catalyzed bioorthogonal reactions, with a special focus on those triggered by activation of multiple carbon-carbon bonds.


External link: https://chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejoc.202200118

Congrats to Xandro, on his successful PhD defense

04/22/2022
Xandro Vidal was great today at his online PhD defense!

Xandro Vidal Pereira is our brand new Doctor in the group, after defending his PhD entitled "Azaheterocycles through Pd(II)-catalyzed formal cycloadditions involving C-H activation".

This PhD work, supervised by Prof. Mascareñas and Prof. Gulías, has received the highest qualification by the jury committee.

Congrats Xandro!!!



External link: https://twitter.com/ciqususc/status/1517513552982122496

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