Inspired by nature - designed in Berlin
Nucleosides and nucleotides are essential information storage and transmission units in all living organisms. The introduction of modifications, however, makes them a versatile tool for the targeted modulation of cellular processes. Modified nucleosides are currently produced through a long, tedious and costly chemical process that limits the production of new compounds. Consequently, new and more efficient synthesis methods are of high interest. Modified nucleic acid derivatives are currently used in the fields of:
- Cancer therapy
- Antiviral drugs
- Immunosuppressive drugs
- Anti-coagulation drugs
- Aptamers
- Gene silencing
- Fluorescence in situ hybridisation
- Click chemistry
Our Technology
BioNukleo - a spin-off of the Technische Universität Berlin - develops new (chemo-) enzymatic synthesis routes for nucleic acid derivatives. Using the long term scientific expertise of more than 10 years we are able to produce nucleic acid derivatives like modified pentose-1-phosphates, nucleosides or nucleotides with high efficiency in few steps and with high purity. BioNukleo has developed chemo-enzymatic processes showing the following advantages:
- Cheap precursors
- High product yields
- One-pot reactions
- Low purification effort due to high selectivity
- Sustainable reactions
Our Enzyme Library
Due to our strong competence in the expression of challenging proteins, we have set up an extensive enzyme library with biocatalysts originating from both mesophilic (e.g. E. coli or human) and extremophilic organisms (e.g. bacteria or archaea living at extreme temperatures). Modifications in the nucleobase or the sugar moiety are well tolerated by our enzymes.
We are open to new challenges and collaborations! Contact us.
How to treat Hepatitis E
We are now aiming to develop an innovative therapy to treat HEV infection in a ZIM-funded project. Read more about our cooperation with the TU Berlin, Applied Biochemistry department here.