Abstact

Porous protein crystals, which are protein assemblies in the solid state, have been engineered to form catalytic vessels by the incorporation of organometallic complexes. Ruthenium complexes in cross-linked porous hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) crystals catalyzed the enantioselective hydrogen-transfer reduction of acetophenone derivatives. The crystals accelerated the catalytic reaction and gave different enantiomers based on the crystal form (tetragonal or orthorhombic). This method represents a new approach for the construction of bioinorganic catalysts from protein crystals.