The development of biomaterials with embedded enzymatic activities has been driven by a range of applications including tissue engineering, biosensors, and bioenergy applications. Advances in the design and production of peptide-based biomaterials have inspired protein engineers to begin creating enzymes with self-assembling, biomaterial forming capabilities. Outfitting enzymes with cross-link forming domains allows biomaterials to be created with a range of benefits including simple low-cost production, homogenous dispersion of activity in the hydrogels, and the ability to colocalize enzymes to create multistep cascades in the hydrogels. Just as natural hydrogels have evolved to exhibit important material and catalytic properties, designed bifunctional proteins that enable colocalization of activity within biomaterials are poised to further advance a range of biocatalytic, biomedical, and biotechnological applications.

This work combines the thermostable alcohol dehydrogenase D (AdhD) from Pyrococcus furiosus and the organic electrocatalyst TEMPO to create a bifunctional catalyst that selectively oxidizes primary and secondary alcohols. The active sites function independently, can be switched on by changing reaction conditions, and can selectively oxidize a mixture of 1- and 2-butanol. The NAD+-dependent enzyme catalyses the secondary alcohol oxidation at a rate 3-fold faster than the primary alcohol, while the covalently attached 4-glycidyl-TEMPO oxidizes 1-butanol and has negligible activity toward 2-butanol. This hybrid catalytic approach has potential value for selective alcohol oxidations as well as other electrochemical and enzymatic multistep processes in energy conversion and chemical synthesis.

Biological mineralization demonstrates how nature can produce elegant structures through controlled organic–mineral interactions. These organics are often used to control shape, size and orientation of mineral. Inspired from nature, the authors utilize an organic agent, ethylenediamine, as a mineralizer to inhibit rapid hydrolysis and condensation of zinc oxide, and thus control crystal growth behavior. Through adjustment of synthesis parameters, such as precursor concentration and the molar ratio of the inorganic precursor and organic ligands, the authors investigate the mechanism of formation of highly branched zinc oxide nanostructures, which can be used for improving efficiency in energy conversion and water purification applications.