Linus B Boll

New from our group: proline-rich peptides that target mitochondria & stay there!
Tuning hydrophobicity and rigidity provided design rules for CPPs that enter cells and redistribute for long-term mitochondrial residency.
Now out in ACS Chemical Biology: pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

We have multiple PhD and Postdoc positions open in my new group at Masaryk University. Are you an excellent and motivated candidate interested in organic and peptide synthesis and chemical biology? Get in touch! Start in January 2026. www.fialalab.com
Appreciate sharing!

Engineered reactivity of a bacterial E1-like enzyme enables ATP-driven modification of protein and peptide C termini Nature Chemistry - In living systems, ATP provides an energetic driving force for protein synthesis and modification. Now, an engineered enzymatic tool has been developed for high-yield, ATP-driven...

Excited to share our latest: we engineered the reactivity of a bacterial E1-like enzyme for ATP-driven modification of C termini. Our tool mimics the logic of peptide bond formation in biology for precision modification of proteins in vitro. 🧪https://rdcu.be/ewN7C

Selectively assembling collagen heterotrimers is a challenge. But not for us! Aminopropline-aspartate salt bridges drive the assembly of a hyperstable, a minimal-length, and a special blunt-ended collagen heterotrimer. Now out in
@angewandtechemie.bsky.social!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

🚨 New preprint from our group! We report a photocatalytic, regiodivergent method to functionalize saturated N-heterocycles at the α- or β-position. The metal-free reaction runs in water with a flavin catalyst and gives rapid access to sought-after piperidines. Check it out here: 🔗 tin.al/DqxU

🚨 Happy to share a new preprint – our group’s first!
🔗 chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...

We report a novel synthetic method to access cyclic ethers from diketones, powered by simple borane catalysts.

Thanks to the whole team for their excellent work!

AI Executives Promise Cancer Cures. Here’s the Reality The technology is genuinely useful for scientific discovery, but its applications are less dramatic than you might think.

According to tech firms, generative AI is going to cure cancer extremely soon. While that's false, the technology is transforming biomedical research. I talked to scientists and executives at universities, pharma companies, and research institutes to learn how: www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

Enantioselective Conjugate Addition of Aldehydes to Oxetane- and Azetidine-Containing Nitroolefins: An Entry to Spirocyclic Pyrrolidines Enantioselective amine-catalyzed conjugate additions of aldehydes to oxetane- and azetidine-containing nitroolefins afford γ-nitroaldehydes as key building blocks en route to spirocyclic oxetane/azetidine-pyrrolidines. The study provided insights into the stability and reactivity of these β,β-disubstituted nitroolefins and enabled the enantioselective synthesis of chiral oxetanes and azetidines in moderate-to-high yields and enantioselectivities. This approach expands synthetic access to medicinally relevant scaffolds and broadens the scope of enantioselective organocatalytic transformations.

Chiral spirocyclic oxetanes & azetidines synthesized by organocatalytic additions to strained nitroolefins—a practical route to medicinally relevant molecules.
🔗 pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....

Fluorophores Nucleate and Stabilize Collagen Triple Helices – En Route to Better Diagnostic Tools for Fibrosis and Tissue Repair Fluorescently labeled collagen model peptides (CMPs) are emerging as valuable diagnostic tools for fibrosis and tissue repair. We show that fluorophores markedly impact the folding behavior of CMPs a...

Last year, we found that equipping a fibrosis-targeting collagen model peptide with a Texas Red fluorophore strongly affected the peptide’s folding behavior - so we looked more closely at the influence of fluorophores on triple helix formation and stability.

Now out in ACIE: tinyurl.com/4sbhdv95

Induced proximity at the cell surface - Nature Biotechnology Technologies to modulate induced proximity at the cell surface advance the manipulation of diverse biological responses.

Check out our new review on induced proximity modalities (#TPD and a lot more!) aimed cell surface targets @naturebiotech.bsky.social, spearheaded by postdocs Nick Till and "Rahm" Ramanathan

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Glucose-derived receptors for photo-controlled binding of amino acid esters in water - Communications Chemistry Selective amino acid receptors that operate in aqueous media are of interest for potential diagnostic and sensing applications. Here, the authors report glucose-derived photoswitchable receptors based...

TWeeP (This Week's Paper): Congratulations to my colleague Bartosz and Zibi on the nice work on glucose-derived bis-crownether receptors for photo-controlled binding of amino acid esters in water via isomerization of azobenzenes. Now out in @commschem.bsky.social.
www.nature.com/articles/s42...

C-terminal amides mark proteins for degradation via SCF–FBXO31 - Nature SCF–FBXO31 scans proteins for C-terminal amidation and marks them for subsequent proteasomal degradation.

Cells are filled with toxic stuff that damages healthy proteins. Is that garbage just left to rot on the curb? No way! Ubiquitin ligases have evolved to recognize chemical damage and clean it up! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A temperature-inducible protein module for control of mammalian cell fate - Nature Methods The Melt (Membrane localization using temperature) protein translocates to the plasma membrane upon temperature shift. Melt variants with a range of switching temperatures enable straightforward therm...

Every once in a while we publish a paper that moves a whole field forward. I think that's the case for this one from the Bugaj lab, where they describe proteins for THERMOGENETIC control of cellular behavior. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Check out this bombshell publication by Michael Fischbach @mfgrp.bsky.social and coworkers @stanford-chemh.bsky.social @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social, imagine a cancer immune therapy/vaccine where treatment begins and ends with a painless topical skin treatment! 🤯

www.nature.com/articles/s41...