Biosynthesis of an organofluorine molecule

From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Fri Mar 22 2002 - 03:34:31 MST


A brief communication in today's Nature that ought to interest
our resident nanotechnologists:

David O Haga, Christoph Schaffrath, Steven L. Cobb, John T.G.
Hamilton & Cormac D. Murphy, Biochemistry: Biosynthesis of an
organofluorine molecule, Nature 416, 279 (2002)

They describe an enzymatic reaction that occurs in the bacterium
Streptomyces cattleya and which catalyses the conversion of
fluoride ion and S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) to
5'-fluoro-5'-deoxyfluoroadenosine (5'-FDA). The bacteria produce
fluoroacetate, which contains a fluor-carbon bond which might be
useful for wet nano.

-- 
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Anders Sandberg                                      Towards Ascension!
asa@nada.kth.se                            http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/
GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y


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