Micro-scale processing and characterization of biopolymers

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There is significant interest in using biopolymers as functional materials in many different industries. For example, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are naturally occurring polyester molecules produced by bacteria that have comparable material properties to conventional synthetic polymers such as polypropylene but have the advantage of being fully biodegradable. Nucleic acid aptamers are functional molecules that can be used as biomarkers in clinical health trials to monitor the effectiveness of different treatment strategies. However, there are a number of engineering and economic challenges associated with the production of biopolymers that have limited their more widespread use. For example, due to the higher production costs, PHAs cannot compete with synthetic polymers. A significant portion of that cost is related to the 'downstream processing' steps that are designed to isolate and purify the polymer. Thus, the objective of the proposed research is to address the practical problems associated with biopolymer purification by developing new bioprocesses that are cheaper and better than current technologies.