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PhD Student

Institute of Technical Biocatalysis
Hamburg University of Technology
Denickestr. 15; 21073 Hamburg

Office: DE15, 1514

Tel. +49-40-42878-2205

E-mail: luca.schmidt@tuhh.de

Research

The spatial structure of amino acids can have a significant influence on their efficacy in pharmaceutical applications, and in the worst case cause serious damage to humans. Nevertheless, they are crucial for the production of products like chemotherapeutics, antidepressants, and immunosuppressants. For this reason, diastereoselective production of active compounds is one of the greatest challenges in the pharmaceutical industry. Today, they are often synthesized by chemically catalyzed routes, involving multi-step processes with toxic by-products and complex protective group chemistry.

With the help of diastereoselective enzymes and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic analysis, the ITB aims to solve this problem sustainably to help counteract climate change and continue to produce vital products for humankind.