SCIENTIFIC FOCUS
GRAND CHALLENGE 2 (GC2): REALISING THE VALUE OF INDUSTRIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY AT SCALE The aim of GC2 is to change the economic reality of scaling-up bio-based processes by addressing the entire manufacturing lifecycle, considering aspects such as process intensification, continuous manufacturing, and whole-process modelling.
PLATFORM 3 (P3): CONTINUOUS FLOW BIOCATALYSIS AND IMMOBILISATION Modular continuous flow reactor systems using immobilised enzymes in packed bed reactors are being developed to exploit the inherent chemical orthogonality of biocatalysis in biomanufacturing. P3 is incorporating biocatalytic retrosynthesis and enzyme engineering in collaboration with industrial partners leading on enzyme production, immobilisation and flow reactor design. Initial projects explore how different immobilisation methods could enhance the properties of biocatalysts and how these can be scaled up, primarily in continuous flow but also as recoverable batch catalysts. New immobilisation methods that could challenge established protocols are being investigated, focussing on utilising cheap and renewable feedstocks as immobilisation scaffolds.
PLATFORM 4 (P4): INDUSTRIAL HOST ENGINEERING The future of biomanufacturing will depend on the successful development of robust industrial host strains able to utilise multiple feedstocks and tolerate non-sterile conditions. An early focus is developing a Design-Build-Test-Learn platform for Halomonas bluephagenesis production of platform chemicals in collaboration with the SYNBIOCHEM Centre. A deeper understanding of this strain at a systems level is being developed through the combined study of its genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics under different conditions. A combination of approaches based on in silico methods, automated Ligase Cycling Reaction (LCR), and advanced genome editing (e.g. CRISPR methods and chromosomal integration) are being utilised to improve prototyping in cell strains and develop these for scale-up process conditions.
FUTURE BIOMANUFACTURING RESEARCH HUB | futurebrh.com | Annual Report 2020
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