Enzymes lock in planar chirality

Biocatalysis Molecules with very large rings—macrocycles—are often conformationally constrained, and some exhibit planar chirality when substituents of the ring cannot rotate freely. Restricted rotation is generally valued in macrocycles because it can hold the molecule in functional conformations. Using a well-established lipase enzyme, Gagnon et al. developed a synthesis of planar chiral macrocycles with handles that can be easily functionalized. Computational docking suggests how using an enzyme as the catalyst for sequential acylation reactions can impart the observed stereochemistry. Science , this issue p. [917][1] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aaz7381