RFdiffusion2: Efficient Enzymes from Prompts

Summary

Today we report the development of AI-generated protein catalysts that function efficiently immediately upon synthesis, bypassing the need for lab optimization that has historically bottlenecked enzyme development. While prior protein design software yielded enzymes with only trace levels of activity, RFdiffusion2 delivers catalytic proficiencies — a rigorous measure of how well an enzyme captures and converts a molecule — comparable to enzymes found in cells. “Deep learning has evolved from predicting protein structures to creating functional systems. This technology allows us to build enzymes around the specific chemistry we want to see happen, opening the door to advanced medicines and materials that nature has not had time to explore.” IPD director David Baker, PhD RFdiffusion2 is freely available on GitHub , allowing all scientists to use and refine this tool. Publications Computational design of metallohydrolases Published in : Nature [ PDF ] Authors : Donghyo Kim , Seth M. Woodbury , Woody Ahern , Doug Tischer, Alex Kang, Emily Joyce, Asim K. Bera, Nikita Hanikel, Saman Salike, Rohith Krishna, Jason Yim, Samuel J. Pellock, Anna Lauko, Indrek Kalvet, Donald Hilvert, David Baker Computational design of metallohydrolases Published in : Nature Methods [ PDF ] Authors : Woody Ahern , Jason Yim , Doug Tischer , Saman Salike , Seth M. Woodbury, Donghyo Kim, Indrek Kalvet, Yakov Kipnis , Brian Coventry, Han Raut Altae-Tran, Magnus S. Bauer , Regina Barzilay, Tommi S. Jaakkola, Rohith Krishna, David Baker Lead Authors Donghyo Kim, PhD Seth M. Woodbury Woody Ahern, PhD Jason Yim, PhD Doug Tischer, PhD Coverage Protein design takes big leap forward as model produces enzymes almost as effective as nature’s — Chemistry World A trio of AI methods tackles enzyme design — C&EN UW Nobel winner’s lab releases most powerful protein design tool yet — GeekWire Driving the chemistry of life Enzymes are the manufacturing machinery of life. Some press atoms together to create larger molecules; others act like nutcrackers, breaking molecules down into smaller components. For decades, scientists have sought to build custom enzymes for new chemical transformations, such as breaking down plastic pollution. However, efficient catalysts has proven exceptionally difficult to design. Like a nutcracker that must fit a specific shell perfectly to crack it, an enzyme must align with i…