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Applied Biocatalysis for Sustainable Development
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Every day we use thousands of goods made from chemicals that have been industrially produced with impact on our planet. We develop gentle methods to produce these chemicals via biocatalysis by microbes or isolated enzymes. Industry contacts us with specific requests such as ‘How can you make chemical A in an environmentally friendly bioprocess?’ or ‘Find biocatalysts that transform chemical A to B.’ or ‘What products can biocatalysis deliver from our waste compound X?’ Thus the projects focus on the discovery of enzymes and microbes and on bioprocess development. They will expose you to various microbial and analytical methods and to an international industry collaboration. Underpinned by curiosity driven research, our ultimate goal is to contribute to the sustainable development of our industries.
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Project 1: Biofilm Factories
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Microbes in nature commonly exist in surface-associated, matrix-enclosed structures referred to as biofilms. While deleterious in clinical settings, biofilms are of great interest in biotechnology. One challenge in biotransformation is the toxicity of substrates and/or products to biocatalytic microorganisms and enzymes. Our group has shown that Zymomonas mobilis biofilms were more tolerant of biotransformation substrates compared to planktonic free-living cells. In collaboration with the international company BASF, this project will focus on further studies for future applications of “biofilm factories” in biocatalytic fine chemical production processes.
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Selected References
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Enhanced benzaldehyde tolerance in Zymomonas mobilis biofilms and the potential of biofilm applications in fine chemical production. 2006. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 72: 1639-1644
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Industrial biocatalysis today and tomorrow. 2001. Nature 409: 258-268
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Project 2: Enantio-specific Biocatalysis
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This is also a research project in collaboration with the international company BASF. The aim is to optimize the enzymatic production of optically active fine chemicals or pharmaceuticals. This draws on the enantio-specificity of enzymes that will be overexpressed in microbial host strains.
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Selected References
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Industrial biocatalysis today and tomorrow. 2001. Nature 409: 258-268
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Enzymatic reduction of the alpha,beta-unsaturated carbon bond in citral. 2006. Journal of Molecular Catalysis B: Enzymatic 38: 126-130
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