Issue 22, 2022

Organometallic catalysis in aqueous and biological environments: harnessing the power of metal carbenes

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 metal-catalyzed 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 has 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.

Graphical abstract: Organometallic catalysis in aqueous and biological environments: harnessing the power of metal carbenes

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
04 Feb 2022
Accepted
15 May 2022
First published
16 May 2022
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2022,13, 6478-6495

Organometallic catalysis in aqueous and biological environments: harnessing the power of metal carbenes

S. Gutiérrez, M. Tomás-Gamasa and J. L. Mascareñas, Chem. Sci., 2022, 13, 6478 DOI: 10.1039/D2SC00721E

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