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In his PhD thesis, Janne Naapuri investigated how natural enzymes could be used in synthetic chemistry applications to produce oxygen-atom-containing ring-structured compounds. 

"The development of sustainable chemistry is one of the most important goals of the industry today. As biocatalysts, naturally derived enzymes offer valuable opportunities for green development. Integrating them into everyday synthetic chemistry and industrial production is a major challenge and a major focus of attention today," says Janne Naapuri.

Gust. Compa award jury: "Both dissertations are of a very high scientific standard and consist of a number of high-impact research articles in their respective fields. In addition, the jury was very pleased to see that the work reflects a very broad methodological expertise and a network of scientific interaction between the research teams, resulting in a wide range of methods applied to the development, production and analysis of the chemical targets under investigation. Considering the topics of the studies - at Isokuortt the physico-chemical theoretical and experimental expertise related to photovoltaic cells, and at Naapuri the implementation of synthesis design and synthetics related to biocatalysts, linked to sustainable development - these reinforce the view of the importance of the works for the scientific community, as teaching materials for university chemistry education, and the role of socially relevant basic research in terms of the development of social chemistry skills."

Janne Naapuri received his PhD in November 2022, and his thesis is entitled "Biocatalytic and chemoenzymatic synthesis of O-heterocycles from allenols". Janne Naapuri's dissertation has also been awarded a Certificate of Honour from the School of Chemical Engineering and the Aalto Prize for the best dissertations.

Janne Naapuri is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki in Professor Jan Deska's bio-organic chemistry group, where he continues to investigate alternatives to biocatalysts, such as ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents.

The previous year Finnish Chemical Society’s Gust. Kompa Prize was awarded to Tao Zou, PhD, also of the School of Chemical Engineering.

Further information:

Janne Naapuri, janne.naapuri@gmail.com

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Gustaf Komppa (28.7.1867-20.1.1949) was one of Finland's most distinguished chemists of all time. Professor Komppa spent almost five decades as a teacher and researcher of chemistry at the Helsinki University of Technology. His most famous achievement is Kamfer's synthesis.