Hybrid material-synthetic biology approaches to design functional structures

合成生物学为材料设计提供了一种新的方法，该计划将开发和整合合成生物学方法与材料加工方法。这将使使用传统材料方法无法制造的新型材料系统的设计成为可能，并且混合方法可能克服与合成生物学相关的一些关键问题，例如规模和成本。具体而言，该计划将侧重于将生物催化剂（酶）整合到聚合物材料系统中，该系统将作为表面涂层或散装材料在一系列不同的应用领域中部署。该方案最初的重点将是探索利用细菌赖氨酸氧化酶作为聚合材料的可活化成分。我们的假设是，这样一个系统将使制造具有广泛效用的刺激反应自愈系统成为可能。在计划进行期间，我们会扩大所使用的酶的组合，结合不同生物催化剂的各自优势，以促进不同类型的聚合物交联化学反应，以达到最佳性能。例子包括酪氨酸酶和周环酶，它们将由学生在实验室中重组生产，并进行结构（x射线晶体学，核磁共振，冷冻电镜和基于溶液的技术，例如SAXS和SANS）和功能（体外动力学研究，电位测定法，流体动力学表征等）表征。所得到的材料系统的性能特征将使用一系列分析方法进行测试，包括但不限于厚膜和薄膜技术、电子显微镜、原子力显微镜和使用光和荧光显微镜监测的自愈分析。

Synthetic biology offers a new approach to the design of materials and this Programme will develop and integrate synthetic biology methods with materials processing methods. This will enable the design of novel material systems that it is not possible to manufacture using conventional materials approaches, and a hybrid approach potentially overcomes some of the key issues associated with synthetic biology such as scale-up and cost. Specifically, this Programme will focus on the integration of biocatalysts (enzymes) into polymeric material systems that will be deployed as surface coatings or as bulk materials across a range of different application areas. The initial focus of the Programme will be on exploring the use of bacterial lysyl oxidases as activatable components of polymeric materials. It is our hypothesis that such a system will enable the fabrication of stimulus responsive self-healing systems that will of broad utility. Over the duration of the Programme, we will expand the portfolio of enzymes to be used, combining the respective benefits of different biocatalysts that can be deployed to facilitate different types of polymer cross-linking chemistry, to achieve optimal performance. Examples include tyrosinase and pericyclases, which will be produced recombinantly in the laboratory by the student and subjected to structural (X-ray crystallography, NMR, Cryo-EM, and solution-based techniques, e.g. SAXS and SANS) and functional (in vitro kinetic studies, potentiometry, hydrodynamic characterisation, etc.) characterisation. The performance characteristics of the resulting materials systems will be tested using a range of analytical methods, including, but not limited to, thick film and thin film techniques, electron microscopy, AFM and self-healing assays monitored by using light and fluorescence microscopy.