Author Archive

Thin film approach to biocatalysis

This lipase is one of the most largely employed enzymes in industry © Valerio Ferrario

Taking an unconventional approach to biocatalysis has allowed scientists in Italy to improve enzyme recyclability with a solvent-free reaction mixture. And by emphasising a need to design processes, biocatalysts and reactors together, instead of separately, they hope to widen the industrial applications of nature’s catalysts.

Lucia Gardossi, from the University of Trieste in Italy, has been investigating solvent-free reaction mixtures, which appeal to industry because of their comparably small production volumes and lack of organic solvents to dispose of. Although their efficiency and selectivity are attractive, biocatalysed versions of industrial reactions are rarely economically viable. The typically viscous reaction mixtures require vigorous mixing, which damages the enzymes and limits their recyclability.

For the full story from Debbie, make sure to take a look at the page on Chemistry World!

This original research article is free to access unitl 11 March 2015. Download it here:

A Pellis et al, Green Chem., 2015, DOI: 10.1039/c4gc02289k

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New Green Chemistry Board Members: Motomu Kanai and Helen Sneddon

We are delighted to welcome Professor Motomu Kanai and Dr Helen Sneddon as new Editorial Board members for Green Chemistry.

Motomu Kanai

Motomu Kanai

Professor Motomu Kanai was born in 1967 in Tokyo, Japan, and received his bachelor degree from The University of Tokyo (UTokyo) in 1989 under the direction of late Professor Kenji Koga. In the middle of his PhD course in UTokyo (in 1992), he obtained an assistant professor position in Osaka University under the direction of Professor Kiyoshi Tomioka. He obtained his PhD from Osaka University in 1995. Then, he moved to University of Wisconsin, USA, for postdoctoral studies with Professor Laura L. Kiessling. In 1997 he returned to Japan and joined Professor Masakatsu Shibasaki’s group in UTokyo as an assistant professor. After doing lecturer (2000~2003) and associate professor (2003~2010), he is currently a professor in UTokyo (since 2010). He is also the PI of ERATO Kanai Life Science Project (since 2011). He has received The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan Award for Young Scientists (2001), Thieme Journals Award (2003), Merck-Banyu Lectureship Award (MBLA: 2005), and Asian Core Program Lectureship Award (2008 and 2010, from Thailand, Malaysia, and China). His research interests entail design and synthesis of functional molecules, such as catalysts and drug lead molecules.

Helen Sneddon

Dr Helen Sneddon read Natural Sciences at Christ’s College, Cambridge University, and stayed at Cambridge to complete her PhD in organic chemistry, on b-keto-dithianes and their application to the synthesis of natural products, with Professor Steven V. Ley.  After postdoctoral work on the asymmetric catalytic chemistry of Palladium (II) with Professor Larry Overman at the University of California, Irvine, she joined GlaxoSmithKline at Stevenage, UK in 2007 as a medicinal chemist, working on respiratory medicines.  In late 2011 she founded GSK’s Green Chemistry Performance Unit, a team she continues to lead, looking at improving the environmental sustainability of research and development, and the routes arising from it. She was made Honorary Professor of Sustainable Chemistry at the University of Nottingham in August 2014.  She has particular interests in solvent and reagent selection and the development of more efficient transformations.

Take a look at some of their recent contributions to Royal Society of Chemistry journals:

Reaction mediated artificial cell termination: control of vesicle viability using Rh(I)-catalyzed hydrogenation
Hirokazu Komatsu, Yuki Daimon, Kohsaku Kawakami, Motomu Kanai, Jonathan P. Hill and Katsuhiko Ariga
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, DOI: 10.1039/C4CP02255F, Paper

Catalytic enantioselective synthesis of 2-(2-hydroxyethyl)indole scaffolds via consecutive intramolecular amido-cupration of allenes and asymmetric addition of carbonyl compounds
Prasanna Kumara Chikkade, Yohei Shimizu and Motomu Kanai
Chem. Sci., 2014, DOI: 10.1039/C3SC52803K, Edge Article

Sustainable chromatography (an oxymoron?)
Emily A. Peterson, Barry Dillon, Izzat Raheem, Paul Richardson, Daniel Richter, Rachel Schmidt and Helen F. Sneddon 
Green Chem., 2014, DOI: 10.1039/C4GC00615A, Perspective

Development of GSK’s reagent guides – embedding sustainability into reagent selection
Joseph P. Adams, Catherine M. Alder, Ian Andrews, Ann M. Bullion, Matthew Campbell-Crawford, Michael G. Darcy, John D. Hayler, Richard K. Henderson, Catriona A. Oare, Israil Pendrak, Anikó M. Redman, Leanna E. Shuster, Helen F. Sneddon and Matthew D. Walker
Green Chem., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3GC40225H, Paper

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Professor Martyn Poliakoff knighted in the New Year’s Honours list

Professor Martyn Poliakoff

Green Chemistry is delighted to announce that Professor Martyn Poliakoff has been awarded a Knighthood in the New Year’s Honours list.

Professor Poliakoff is closely associated with Green Chemistry and was Chair of the Editorial Board from 2006–2012. He says, “I have been associated with Green Chemistry almost from the outset, and I continue to regard it as the leading journal in the field. Long may it continue!”

Professor Poliakoff is an inorganic chemist, whose work has been taken up by industry, notably in the construction of the world’s first multi-reaction supercritical fluid plant. He is a global leader in the field of green and sustainable chemistry and his work in engaging the public with chemistry has been recognised internationally, including through the Periodic Table of Videos on YouTube. Make sure to take a look at the special video made recently to announce the knighthood for Professor Polaikoff online here. Shortly before Christmas he was also elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Professor Poliakoff said “I feel both honoured and somewhat overwhelmed.  I see the award very much as recognition of all the work being done in green and sustainable chemistry in the School of Chemistry by my colleagues, by my research team and by our technical staff whose efforts underpin so much of our research.”

Professor Sir David Greenaway, Vice-Chancellor of The University of Nottingham, said: “What a richly deserved accolade. Sir Martyn contributes so much as a research leader, educator and communicator of science to the wider public. He will receive this honour with his customary modesty, but will be surprised at how widely applauded it is. We are very proud to have him as a colleague.”

Professor Kenneth Seddon

Professor Kenneth Seddon, Green Chemistry Advisory Board member, has also been honoured in the New Year’s Honours list with an OBE for services to Chemistry.

In addition to his ground-breaking research into ionic liquids Professor Seddon has also been very busy recently, having been involved with a featured exhibit at the Royal Society Summer Exhibition, presenting the Inaugural Lecture of the “Frontiers of Knowledge Lecture Series”, House of Commons, receiving four IChemE awards, the Nicklin medal, and the RSC Teamwork award.

The New Year Honours lists recognise the achievements of a wide range of extraordinary people across the UK, you can read more about them here.

Take a look at some recent contributions to Green Chemistry from Martyn Poliakoff and Kenneth Seddon. These are all free to access until the end of February.

15 years of Green Chemistry
James Clark, Roger Sheldon, Colin Raston, Martyn Poliakoff and Walter Leitner
DOI: 10.1039/C3GC90047A, Editorial

Synthesis of metal–organic frameworks by continuous flow
Peter A. Bayliss, Ilich A. Ibarra, Eduardo Pérez, Sihai Yang, Chiu C. Tang, Martyn Poliakoff and Martin Schröder
DOI: 10.1039/C4GC00313F, Paper

Synthesis of antimalarial trioxanes via continuous photo-oxidation with 1O2 in supercritical CO2
Jessica F. B. Hall, Richard A. Bourne, Xue Han, James H. Earley, Martyn Poliakoff and Michael W. George
DOI: 10.1039/C2GC36711D, Paper

Enhanced laccase stability through mediator partitioning into hydrophobic ionic liquids
Lars Rehmann, Ekaterina Ivanova, H. Q. Nimal Gunaratne, Kenneth R. Seddon and Gill Stephens
DOI: 10.1039/C3GC42189A, Paper

Tailoring ionic liquid catalysts: structure, acidity and catalytic activity of protonic ionic liquids based on anionic clusters, [(HSO4)(H2SO4)x] (x = 0, 1, or 2)
Karolina Matuszek, Anna Chrobok, Fergal Coleman, Kenneth R. Seddon and Małgorzata Swadźba-Kwaśny
DOI: 10.1039/C4GC00415A, Paper

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Renewable Chemicals from Lignin Symposium

Congratulations to Sandra Constant, Robin Jastrzebski and Goran Rashid, who were awarded Green Chemistry poster prizes at the recent Renewable Chemicals from Lignin Symposium.

Green Chemistry was pleased to sponsor the Renewable Chemicals from Lignin symposium, which took place on 18th November, London, UK with the aim of bringing together researchers from academia and industry involved in the processing and applications of lignin in order to share the science, address the challenges in the field and build collaborations for the future.

Oral presentations were given on a wide variety of topics from lignin structure to biocatalytic conversion and applications, with a great line-up of speakers including Tim Bugg, Mike Jarvis and David Jackson to name just a few. The poster prizes were judged by members of the scientific committee and were awarded as follows:

  • Gosan Rashid, University of Warwick, for his poster ‘Discovery of novel bacterial lignin-degrading enzymes.’
  • Robin Jastrzebski, Utrecht University, for his poster entitled ‘A sustainable route to dimethyl adipate from lignin by non-heme Iron (III) oxidative cleavage of catechols.’
  • Sandra Constant, Utrecht University, for her poster ‘Comparison of the chemical structure of oganosolv lignins extracted from three lignocellulosic sources: Wheat straw, poplar and spruce.’

Take a look at the RSC Conferences website to see what other great events are coming up!

Poster prize winners with some of the speakers and conference organisers

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Green Polymer Chemistry 2015

AMI’s Green Polymer Chemistry 2015 is the 4th edition of the international conference on sustainable synthesis of plastics and elastomers including materials currently available in the marketplace. The event will take place from 18-19 March 2014 at the Maritim Hotel, Cologne, Germany.

The conference kicks off with market papers on the global renewable plastics industry, discusses renewable packaging, new from old materials, synthesis, renewable plastics, measuring sustainability and new routes to bio-based polymers. This will be a 2-day conference with a networking cocktail reception for all delegates and speaker to attend, on the evening of the first day. Please follow the link here for full programme: http://www.amiplastics.com/Events/Resources/Programme/Green%20Polymer%20Chemistry%202015%20Brochure.pdf

For more information please visit the webiste or contact the Conference Organiser: Kat Langner, email: kl@amiplastics.com Tel: +44 (0) 117 314 8111

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EPA Announces Winners of 2014 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards

Green Chemistry would like to congratulate the recent winners of the EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards. The Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards promote the environmental and economic benefits of developing and using novel green chemistry. These prestigious annual awards recognize chemical technologies that incorporate the principles of green chemistry into chemical design, manufacture, and use. The 2014 submissions were formally judged by an independent panel of technical experts convened by the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute.

The winners include:

  • Academic: Professor Shannon S. Stahl, University of Madison for his work on developing aerobic oxidation methods for Pharmaceutical Synthesis.
  • Small Business: Amyris, for engineering a yeast to make a renewable fuel replacement for petroleum diesel.
  • Designing Greener Chemicals: The Solberg Company, for developing a new safer firefighting foam which is free from persistent toxic chemicals.
  • Greener Reaction Conditions: QD Vision, Inc., for the production of new LED lighting material that can bring massive energy savings.
  • Greener Synthetic Pathways: Solazyme, Inc., for making soaps, laundry detergents, food products and fuels while reducing energy and water use, waste and impacts on forests.

For further information on the award winning research and how to enter for the 2015 awards take a look at the EPA website.

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Lignin boosts sunscreen performance

Scientists in Canada and China have shown that the effectiveness of commercial sunscreens can be enhanced by the addition of lignin and, as an unprecedented bonus; sunlight exposure may help them work even better!

To read the full article written about this work visit Chemistry World.

The original research article is free to access until 14 November 2014.

Download it here: Y Qian, X Qiu and S Zhu, Green Chem., 2014, DOI: 10.1039/c4gc01333f

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Walter Leitner and Jürgen Klankermayer – Winners of the European Sustainable Chemistry Award

We are delighted to announce that Walter Leitner, Green Chemistry Editorial Board Chair, has been awarded the 2014 European Sustainable Chemistry Award alongside Jürgen Klankermayer, also from the Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry at the RWTH Aachen University.

The European Sustainable Chemistry Award is intended to be a prestigious scheme to raise the profile of sustainable chemistry and be a spur to innovation and competitiveness. The ESCA was initially launched in 2010 by EuCheMS and its current prize amounts to €10,000. A full list of sponsors can be found on the website.

The Award covers innovations in the following scientific areas:

– the use of alternative synthetic pathways, that increase resource efficiency and selectivity e.g. with the help of catalysis or natural processes

– the use of alternative feedstocks which are safer and/or renewable e.g. based on biomass

– the use of alternative reactor design and reaction conditions, such as use of solvents which deliver health and environmental benefits, or increased yield and reduced waste and emissions

– the design and use of chemicals and chemical products that are, for example, less environmentally harmful than current alternatives, or inherently safer with regard to hazardous concerns

Visit the website for more information on the EuCheMS and the prizes awarded.

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Renewable Chemicals from Lignin Symposium

A one day symposium is being held on 18th November 2014 in London, UK on the subject of Renewable Chemicals from Lignin. This event aims to bring together researchers from academia and industry at all levels interested in the chemistry, processing and applications of lignin in order to share the science, address the challenges in the field and build collaborations for the future.

The following four topics will be covered with a range of presentations from UK and international speakers.

  • Lignin structure
  • Bio-catalytic conversion
  • Chemo-catalytic breakdown
  • Applications

The programme of this meeting will feature both oral, flash poster and conventional poster presentations. The Scientific committee involved in organising the event includes: Tim BuggUniversity of Warwick, (Chair), Simon McQueen MasonUniversity of York, Rob FieldJohn Innes Centre, Norwich, Mike JarvisUniversity of Glasgow and Adrian HigsonNNFCC, York and Bio Base NWE project.

Registration is now open, so visit the website to find out more!

Renewable Chemicals from Lignin, Chemistry Centre, London, UK, 18th November 2014

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Green Chemistry Impact Factor rises to 6.85

We are delighted to announce that Green Chemistry’s Impact Factor* has risen to a new high of 6.85!

A huge thank you goes to all of our authors, referees and Editorial and Advisory Board members for their help and support on the Journal.

Green Chemistry is celebrating fifteen years of publishing cutting edge research on the development of alternative sustainable technologies and to mark the occasion we have invited contributions from authors who have green coverhighly cited articles from each of the past 15 years. The result is a growing collection which you can read online here.

We invite you to submit your latest research on sustainable chemistry and technology to Green Chemistry.

Read more about the 2013 Impact Factors from across RSC Publishing on the RSC Publishing Blog.

*The Impact Factor provides an indication of the average number of citations per paper. Produced annually, Impact Factors are calculated by dividing the number of citations in a year by the number of citeable articles published in the preceding two years. Data based on 2013 Journal Citation Reports®, (Thomson Reuters, 2014).

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