published

Visualizing in Vivo Dynamics of Designer Nanoscaffolds

Enzymes of natural biochemical pathways are routinely subcellularly organized in space and time in order to improve pathway efficacy and control. Designer scaffolding platforms are under development to confer similar benefits upon engineered …

Orthogonal Degron System for Controlled Protein Degradation in Cyanobacteria

Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 is a model cyanobacterium for study of the circadian clock, photosynthesis, and bioproduction of chemicals, yet nearly 40% of its gene identities and functions remain unknown, in part due to limitations of the …

Signal disruption leads to changes in bacterial community population

The disruption of bacterial signaling (quorum quenching) has been proven to be an innovative approach to influence the behavior of bacteria. In particular, lactonase enzymes that are capable of hydrolyzing the N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) …

Enhancement of biocatalyst activity and protection against stressors using a microbial exoskeleton

Whole cell biocatalysts can perform numerous industrially-relevant chemical reactions. While they are less expensive than purified enzymes, whole cells suffer from inherent reaction rate limitations due to transport resistance imposed by the cell …

Achieving high-rate hydrogen recovery from wastewater using customizable alginate polymer gel matrices encapsulating biomass

Alginate encapsulation matrices selectively retained hydrogen producing biomass, achieving reliable high-rate production of hydrogen at various operating conditions. In addition to methane gas, higher-value resources such as hydrogen gas are produced …

Adsorption and Biodegradation of Aromatic Chemicals by Bacteria Encapsulated in a Hydrophobic Silica Gel

An adsorbent silica biogel material was developed via silica gel encapsulation of Pseudomonas sp. NCIB 9816-4, a bacterium that degrades a broad spectrum of aromatic pollutants. The adsorbent matrix was synthesized using silica precursors …

Enhanced biodegradation of atrazine by bacteria encapsulated in organically modified silica gels

Biodegradation by cells encapsulated in silica gel is an economical and environmentally friendly methodfor the removal of toxic chemicals from the environment. In this work, recombinant E. coli expressing atrazine chlorohydrolase (AtzA) were …

Silica ecosystem for synergistic biotransformation

Synergistical bacterial species can perform more varied and complex transformations of chemical substances than either species alone, but this is rarely used commercially because of technical difficulties in maintaining mixed cultures. Typical …

Engineering of a Silica Encapsulation Platform for Hydrocarbon Degradation Using Pseudomonas sp. NCIB 9816-4

Industrial application of encapsulated bacteria for biodegradation of hydrocarbons in water requires mechanically stable materials. A silica gel encapsulation method was optimized for Pseudomonas sp. NCIB 9816-4, a bacterium that degrades more than …