Within the INBIOWAL Project, the Biocatlab Group at Politecnico di Milano organized the webinar focusing on recent developments and applications in biocatalysis, highlighting the use of enzymes as powerful tools for the synthesis of valuable chemical compounds and the development of innovative biotechnological processes.

The programme covers several complementary aspects of applied biocatalysis. One area of focus is the use of ene-reductases for the stereoselective synthesis of flavours and fragrances, illustrating the potential of enzymatic transformations to provide selective routes to compounds of interest to the flavour and fragrance industries.

The webinar also explores phospholipid chemistry, from naturally occurring structures to their preparation through chemo-enzymatic synthesis, demonstrating how biological and chemical approaches can be combined to access structurally complex molecules.

Another topic concerns the enzymatic synthesis of non-natural amino acids, highlighting how enzymes can expand the chemical diversity accessible through biocatalytic methods and provide new approaches to the preparation of valuable building blocks.

The final presentation addresses screening strategies for the directed evolution of enzymes, focusing on methods for identifying improved enzyme variants from large libraries. This highlights the importance of efficient screening technologies in developing biocatalysts with tailored properties for specific applications.

Overall, the webinar provides a broad perspective on frontiers in applied biocatalysis, ranging from enzyme-enabled synthesis of flavours, fragrances, phospholipids, and non-natural amino acids to the development and optimization of enzymes through directed evolution. The presentations demonstrate the versatility of biocatalysis as an approach to selective, efficient, and innovative chemical synthesis.