Integrating micelle catalysts with living cells for recyclable photoenzymatic cascades

Chemoenzymatic cascade, integrating chemical catalysis and biocatalysis within a single system, presents transformative opportunities in chemical bioconversion. However, the implementation of such catalytic systems remains challenging due to inherent incompatibilities between chemical and enzymatic processes. To address that, we developed a biocompatible approach that combines polymeric micelles with living cells to achieve a recyclable photoenzymatic cascade. In this process, the charged micelles encapsulating photocatalysts are attached to the surface of benzaldehyde lyase-expressing Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells. Notably, the coated E. coli cells not only retained their intrinsic enzymatic activity but also enabled an efficient one-pot photoenzymatic cascade. Furthermore, the micelle-coated cells retained over 83% of their original activity after five catalytic cycles. Consequently, our approach offers a polymeric micellar platform for achieving a recyclable photoenzymatic cascade, with the potential to be extended to other chemoenzymatic cascades, thereby providing a promising strategy for efficient industrial synthesis.