A new review is out and was featured on a cover!

Check out our recent review on genetic code expansion in living cells, featured also on the cover of ACS Chemical Reviews (cover art by Sabrina Giofrè).

Setting the stage with the milestone studies that enabled the genetic encoding of noncanonical amino acids in vivo, we comprehensively review discoveries and technologies that advance genetic code expansion. Molecular tools are frequently developed in prokaryotes, and we especially highlight the challenges for transferring these into eukaryotes. We further provide an overview of all noncanonical amino acids (listing >500!) encoded in living cells as of today, along with their properties and applications in diverse fields of research.

This is a great resource that allows you to browse for the noncanonical amino acid you desire for a specific application, including host organism and molecular machinery used for encoding. We further hope that it serves as a roadmap for developing novel noncanonical amino acids with yet uncharted properties and together with the tools to genetically encode them.

The genetic encoding of noncanonical amino acids into proteins of living cells enables to change protein structure and function, to directly encode posttranslational modifications, and to add entirely new chemical functionalities that can be harnessed for click chemistry and more.

Are you interested in diving into the latest developments in the field of genetic code expansion, the most pressing challenges, and the promises of where the field is heading in the next years to come?

Here you go: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/epdf/10.1021/acs.chemrev.3c00878

Congratulations to Cosimo Jann, Sabrina Giofrè, Rajanya Bhattacharjee and Edward Lemke.