German researchers described new selective biocatalyst to produce epoxides from styrene

In Germany, doctoral students at Ruhr University Bochum have described a new selective biocatalyst in an interdisciplinary and inter-university collaboration with Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. New biocatalysts can produce useful epoxides from harmful styrene, and do this so selectively that only the desired compounds are formed and not their undesirable counterparts. This result was achieved by a group of doctoral students from the MiCon research training group (“Microbial Substrate Conversion”) at Ruhr University Bochum with the support of a research group at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. The researchers report their findings in the journal ACS Catalysis on July, 7, 2025.