Structural insights unlock new pathways for CO₂ conversion
A new study demonstrates a streamlined enzymatic route to convert CO₂ into enantiopure lactic acid, a key ingredient in sustainable plastics and pharmaceuticals. Conducted in collaboration with Johnson Matthey and Wageningen University, the work highlights a route to use CO₂ as a sustainable feedstock, reducing reliance on fossil-derived chemicals and enabling lower-impact production of high-value materials.
Diamond played a key role in the study, using the dedicated Industry cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) microscopes at the Electron Bio-Imaging Centre (eBIC), to determine the structure of the novel enzyme NcPDC. This work marks an important step in collaboration with Johnson Matthey’s biocatalysis team, representing one of the company’s first applications of cryo‑EM to study protein-based catalysts. The structural insights revealed how the enzyme performs the critical CO₂-incorporation step and guided optimisation of the catalytic process. Together, this work supports the development of more efficient, scalable routes for CO₂ utilisation in industrial chemical production.