CNRS Chemistry welcomes Wonwoo Nam as an Ambassador in Chemical Sciences

What drove you into the realm of bioinorganic chemistry and oxygen-related biological processes?

When I was a graduate student at UCLA in 1985, the chemistry of nonheme iron model systems was an emerging field of bioinorganic chemistry. I was fascinated by learning that we could mimic the chemical reactions of iron-based enzymes involved in plant metabolism other vital biological processes by synthesizing simple model compounds and investigating their chemical and physical properties in a laboratory. When I became an independent researcher, I was very lucky to synthesize and crystalize the first mononuclear nonheme iron-oxo and iron-peroxo complexes. I believe this finding opened a new research area of bioinorganic chemistry. More recently, I dedicated myself to the study of reactive intermediates and chemical reactions mechanisms of dioxygenase enzymes, including Rieske dioxygenases, by utilizing simple synthetic iron complexes as chemical model compounds of those nonheme iron enzymes. 

What future outcomes do you expect from biomimetic catalysis?

In a bioinorganic chemistry classroom, I always teach students that enzymes know chemistry better than human beings do because these compounds have been evolving for two billion years. This is why enzymes use the most optimized conditions in their catalytic reactions and yield products with stereo-, chemo-, and regioselectivities. Understanding the fundamental chemistry of these enzymes might enable us to develop environmentally friendly catalysts inspired by nature to perform chemical reactions more efficiently. Shedding light on oxidation mechanisms in biological systems will further bring biological insights that might help better understand diseases and metabolic processes.

As a CNRS Ambassador in Chemical Sciences, what are you most looking forward to during your French conference tour?

First of all, this trip will give me the opportunity to meet many French bioinorganic chemists and discuss our possible future collaborations, including the exchange of students and post-docs. I also would like to discuss the opportunity to initiate a joint bioinorganic symposium between France and Korea that will bring young chemists in the French and Korean bioinorganic chemistry communities. Finally, I would like to build a CNRS Chemistry laboratory at Ewha Womans University with the research topic of bioinspired environmentally friendly oxidation catalysts. This research topic will include the water splitting reaction modelling Photosystems I and II and the development of bioinspired asymmetric oxidation catalytic systems.

Rédaction : AVR