Genetically functionalized phage aerogels as filters for smart recycling

在这个项目中，噬菌体（细菌病毒）被用来构建气凝胶，使废水中的无机和有机物质能够特定地回收。噬菌体的独特结构——生物纳米纤维——使转基因纳米纤维的产生变得容易，从而使纳米纤维具有完全的功能，可以选择性地结合无机和有机物质。通过冰模板的方法，从噬菌体中生成具有复杂结构的气凝胶，即所谓的噬菌体气凝胶。通过将基因工程和冰模板技术相结合，可以制造出具有定制性能的独立式超多孔功能气凝胶。多种实验方法被用来表征转基因噬菌体，并研究和量化噬菌体对无机和有机物质的特异性结合。重点还包括噬菌体相互作用以及与周围介质相互作用的基本问题，以及合成参数对噬菌体气凝胶结构和孔隙率的影响。这些噬菌体气凝胶有望回收有价值的材料，如稀土和战略金属，以及从废水中去除无机和有机污染物。噬菌体气凝胶的功能将使用含有这些物质的模型系统进行研究。反馈回路将用于将这些结果与分子生物学修饰和冰模板相关联。在这个项目中，将开发具有生态和经济吸引力的用于智能回收的高性能噬菌体气凝胶，并实现基于知识的设计具有可调结合性能的气凝胶过滤器。

In this project, phages (bacterial viruses) are used to construct aerogels that enable the specific recycling of inorganic and organic substances from wastewater. The unique structure of phages - biological nanofibers - enables the facile generation of genetically modified and thus fully functionalized nanofibers for selective binding of inorganic and organic substances. By means of ice templating aerogels with elaborated architectures are generated from the phages, so-called phage aerogels. By combining genetic engineering and ice templating, freestanding ultra-porous functional aerogels with tailored properties are created. A variety of experimental methods is used to characterize the genetically modified phages and to investigate and quantify the specific binding of inorganic and organic substances by the phages. The focus is also on fundamental questions of the interaction of the phages with each other and with the surrounding medium, as well as the influence of the synthesis parameters on the structure and porosity of the phage aerogels. These phage aerogels are expected to enable the recovery of valuable materials, such as rare earths and strategic metals, as well as the removal of inorganic and organic contaminants from wastewater. The functionality of phage aerogels will be investigated using model systems containing such substances. Feedback loops will be used to correlate these results with molecular biological modifications and ice templating. In this project, ecologically and economically attractive high-performance phage aerogels for smart recycling will develop and the knowledge-based design of aerogel filters with tuneable binding properties shall be enabled.