The materials science field has so far synthesized functional molecules through conventional organic chemistry and enzyme-based synthetic methods in test tubes. However, some useful molecules are difficult to synthesize using these approaches. A research team led by Chief Scientist Kenichiro Itami at RIKEN, and Designated Assistant Professor Atsushi Usami at the Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules at Nagoya University, has succeeded for the first time in synthesizing functional nanocarbon inside insect bodies by utilizing the xenobiotic metabolism mechanisms that insects possess.
The research team mixed a belt-shaped nanocarbon called "methylene-bridged [6]cycloparaphenylene ([6]MCPP)" into artificial diet and administered it orally to larvae of Spodoptera litura, a species of moth known as an agricultural pest. Two days later, they extracted and purified [6]MCPP-oxylene, which is [6]MCPP doped with an oxygen atom, from the frass of these larvae. This synthesized compound acquired fluorescent properties that [6]MCPP does not possess.
The team further conducted RNA analysis of the intestines of larvae that consumed [6]MCPP and xenobiotic metabolism tests using E. coli to investigate the reaction mechanism. As a result, they found that a metabolic enzyme called cytochrome P450 was involved in the introduction of oxygen atoms to [6]MCPP. Additionally, oxygen atoms were introduced only to nanocarbons of specific ring sizes.
The reaction mechanism of this in-insect nanocarbon synthesis is unprecedented and innovative. Using this as a foundation, the team proposes a new methodology to materials science: "functional molecule creation using biological systems."
(Article: Masanori Nakajo)
