Sustainable Chemistry Projects
Chonnam National University Researchers Make Formaldehyde Usable
Kalin Ned — January 5, 2026
Research conducted at Chonnam National University presents a significant advancement in sustainable chemistry. A team of researchers — that included "Dr. Taner Duysak, the leading first author of this paper and a researcher in the group led by Professor Jeong-Sun Kim at the Department of Chemistry and the Host-Directed Antiviral Research Center, Chonnam National University" — came up with a method to repurpose the hazardous substance formaldehyde into a valuable compound known as L-glyceraldehyde. The scientific team accomplished this through the modification of a specific enzyme, which facilitates a chemical reaction under mild, water-based conditions to achieve a high conversion rate with minimal unwanted byproducts.
This enzymatic process is designed to operate without the need for toxic solvents or excessive energy input, presenting a potentially cleaner alternative to conventional chemical manufacturing pathways. The resulting product is a chiral building block critical for synthesizing pharmaceuticals and rare sugars.
