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Prof Lars Jeuken
Prof Paul Beales
Applications accepted all year round
Self-Funded PhD Students Only
About the Project
Progress in biotechnology over the last two decades has greatly increased the use of biocatalyst in the industrial production of fine chemicals. Advantages of biocatalysts over chemical catalyst are their (stereo)selectivity, higher turnover frequencies (TOF), ‘green’ as well as sustainable production and optimal activity under mild pH and temperature conditions. Fundamental reactions in energy conversion and storage are also catalysed by enzymes, but many of these reside in biological lipid membranes, including enzymes active in hydrogen oxidation and evolution, carbon capture (e.g., CO2 to formate) and oxygen reduction. Membrane enzymes, however, are usually not considered for biocatalysis because of high cost of purification and low stability in detergent environments. In stark contrast to this generally held belief, our recent result show that membrane enzymes exhibit specific properties that make them suitable for a specific biotechnological application, electrocatalysis.
In this PhD project you will aim to exploit membrane enzymes for applications in bioelectrocatalysis, in particular for bioenergy related applications such as biofuel cells. Your aim is supported by our recent results, which show that ‘cheap-to-produce’ crude membrane extracts are suitable catalyst systems and that amphiphilic polymers are able to induce an unprecedented improvement in biocatalyst stability. As a proof-of-principle, your will use two membrane enzymes, membrane-bound hydrogenase (hydrogen oxidation) and cytochrome bo3 (oxygen reduction), to create a cheap and robust enzyme-based hydrogen-air fuel cell. This technology will advance the area of industrial biomanufacturing and open up the use of membrane enzymes in biocatalysis and in particularly, bioelectrocatalysis.
In this PhD project you will aim to exploit membrane enzymes for applications in bioelectrocatalysis, in particular for bioenergy related applications such as biofuel cells. Your aim is supported by our recent results, which show that ‘cheap-to-produce’ crude membrane extracts are suitable catalyst systems and that amphiphilic polymers are able to induce an unprecedented improvement in biocatalyst stability. As a proof-of-principle, your will use two membrane enzymes, membrane-bound hydrogenase (hydrogen oxidation) and cytochrome bo3 (oxygen reduction), to create a cheap and robust enzyme-based hydrogen-air fuel cell. This technology will advance the area of industrial biomanufacturing and open up the use of membrane enzymes in biocatalysis and in particularly, bioelectrocatalysis.
References
Heath, G.R., Li, M., Rong, H., Radu, V., Frielingsdorf, S., Lenz, O., Butt, J.N., Jeuken, L.J.C. (2017) Multilayered lipid membrane stacks for biocatalysis using membrane enzymes. Adv. Funct. Mat., 27, Art. No. 1606265DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201606265
Khan, S., Li, M., Muench, S.P., Jeuken, L.J.C., Beales, P. A. (2016) Durable Proteo-Hybrid Vesicles for the Extended Functional Lifetime of Membrane Proteins in Bionanotechnology Chem. Commun., 52, 11020-11023.DOI: 10.1039/C6CC04207D
Khan, S., Li, M., Muench, S.P., Jeuken, L.J.C., Beales, P. A. (2016) Durable Proteo-Hybrid Vesicles for the Extended Functional Lifetime of Membrane Proteins in Bionanotechnology Chem. Commun., 52, 11020-11023.DOI: 10.1039/C6CC04207D
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View other supervisors at University of LeedsCareer overview
Professor Paul Beales is a Professor of Soft Matter and Biophysics at the University of Leeds, having joined the institution as a Senior Research Fellow in November 2010. He was promoted to Lecturer in 2015, Associate Professor in 2016, and then to his current professorship in 2022. Professor Beales obtained his PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 2005. Following this, he undertook postdoctoral appointments at Princeton University from 2005 to 2008 and at Yale University from 2008 to 2010. His research is highly interdisciplinary, focusing on the interface of physics, chemistry, and biology, particularly in understanding, characterising, and engineering soft and biological materials.
Research interests
Professor Beales'' research is highly interdisciplinary, focusing on the interface of physics, chemistry, and biology. His interests include understanding, characterising, and engineering soft and biological materials. He aims to explore fundamental physical properties and interactions of macromolecular and supramolecular structures in living systems. Additionally, he is involved in efforts to reconstitute cellular processes and functions within minimal systems and in designing novel materials with technological applications. A significant aspect of his work involves developing new materials for drug formulation and delivery, contributing to the advancement of smart medicines. Many of his projects centre around self-assembled membranes, which serve as models for biological membranes or facilitate the encapsulation of chemical cargo within vesicle architectures. He is particularly interested in vesicles for the development of novel technologies, including nanomedicines, nanoreactors, controlled release systems, and artificial cells.
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