Flavin-Based Catalysis - Preface

Abstract

Participationincatalyticprocessesisoneofthemainrolesofflavins.Naturehasbeenusing this concept for millions of years. The discovery, description of the structureand function of flavins in the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth cen-tury has triggered exploitation of the catalytic capabilities of flavins in man-madesynthetic transformations, either using enzymatic or artificial systems. Nowadays,flavins and flavoproteins are enjoying an increased interest from a broad audience,which includes researchers active in synthetic chemistry, enzymology, biocatalysis,and spectroscopy. With new natural flavins still being discovered in recent years,newflavoenzymestructuresandmechanismselucidated,newflavinderivativessyn-thesized, and new photocatalytic and biomimetic approaches developed, it is a verydynamicfieldofresearch.Evenifthemostcommonflavincofactorswerediscoveredabout one century ago, the field is alive and kicking. There are more than 1000 newscientific literature contributions on flavin-related research per year. Many of themare relevant to catalysis. Considering the increasing frequency of new discoveries, one may ask: Are there any limits to flavin catalysis