A modular synthetic biology pipeline for the engineering of next generation sustainable and bioactive dyes

任何品牌在纺织行业取得成功的关键是染色工艺，要求颜色表现出均匀性，抗性和经济可行性。然而，这些要求带来了巨大的环境和社会成本，该行业被全球公认为是环境污染最严重的工业过程之一，每年消耗超过130万吨染料和颜料，其中最常见的是来自石化来源的合成偶氮染料。然而，这些染料具有高毒性和生物累积性，每年在流出物中损失约20万吨，大多数逃离传统的废水处理，纺织品染色占全球工业水污染的20%以上。该行业也是最大的工业用水者之一，每年消耗超过5.8万亿升的水。作为全球消费者的一部分，纺织行业面临着替代染色方法的巨大压力，并且对生产技术的可持续性提出了越来越高的监管要求。因此，市场已经看到“天然染料”的流量在98亿美元/年的染料市场中迅速增长。然而，这些染料很少是“低影响”的，通常使用媒染剂将颜色“固定”在织物上，仍然消耗大量的水。基于合成生物学的进步，Colorifix通过将低成本的常见农业副产品（如糖蜜）转化为高价值的颜料和染色纺织品，为传统染色技术提供了一种生态和可持续的替代方案。所有这一切都可以在没有任何酸，重金属或溶剂的情况下进行，如传统染色所需的那样。Colorifix工艺还可节省10倍的水和高达80%的能源。凭借重要的品牌利益，以及Innovate UK的支持，Colorifix旨在与Earlham研究所合作，提供为期18个月的工业研究计划，以研究使用工业假单胞菌作为传统大肠杆菌的替代品进行规模生产的潜力。提供了代谢上通用的细菌和用于表达复杂天然产物的特殊宿主，但其不能降解蔗糖基可再生原料。这些活动将使Colorifix能够真正扩大流程，并利用全球市场机会。由于报道的蒽醌类药物的治疗潜力，这些新知识也增加了重要价值，并为制造抗病毒和抗微生物染料开辟了新的机会。

Critical for the success of any brand in the Textile industry is the dyeing process with a requirement for colours to demonstrate uniformity, resistance and economic viability. These requirements however come at a significant environmental and societal cost with the industry globally recognised as one of the most environmentally polluting Industrial processes, consuming \> 1.3 million tons of dyes and pigments p.a, the most common of which are synthetic azo dyes derived from petrochemical sources. These dyes are however highly toxic and bioaccumulative with some 200K tons lost annually in effluent, most escaping conventional wastewater treatment with textile dyeing accounting for over 20% of global industrial water pollution The industry is also one of the largest industrial water consumers with over 5.8 trillion litres of water consumed p.a.Failed attempts to ban certain Azo dyes and control the release of toxic wastewaters, have placed significant pressure on the Textile industry for alternative dyeing methods as part of a global consumer and increasing regulatory demand for greater sustainability in production techniques. As a result, the market has seen a flux of 'natural dyes' growing rapidly in the $9.8 billion/year dye market. However, such dyes are rarely 'low-impact' often using mordants to "fix" colour onto the fabric and still consuming large quantities of water.Based on advancements in synthetic biology, Colorifix offer an ecological and sustainable alternative to conventional dyeing techniques by converting low-cost commonly available agricultural by-products such as sugar molasses into high-value pigments and dyed textiles. All of this can be done without any acids, heavy metals or solvents as required in conventional dyeing. The Colorifix process also uses 10 times less water and up to 80% less energy.With significant brand interest secured, and with Innovate UK support, Colorifix aim to deliver 18-month programme of Industrial Research in collaboration with the Earlham Institute to investigate the potential to scale production using industrial_Pseudomonas_ species as a replacement for traditional_Escherichia coli_ -_Pseudomona__s_ offering a metabolically versatile bacterium and an exceptional host for the expression of complex natural products but limited in its inability to degrade sucrose-based renewable feedstocks. These activities will enable Colorifix to truly scale the process and capitalise upon the Global market opportunity available. The arising knowledge also add significant value and open new opportunities to manufacture antiviral and antimicrobial dyes due to the reported therapeutic potential of anthraquinones.