The need to reduce our reliance on fossil-derived hydrocarbons for the production of chemicals and materials is pressing. An unexploited and sustainable natural resource to help address this issue are polysaccharides and in particular the polysaccharide chitin, which is the second most abundant natural polymer on the planet after cellulose. Chitin and its deacetylated derivative chitosan have unique biochemical properties such as biocompatibility, biodegradability and non-toxicity, and so they have found many promising applications in health and personal care, but modifications to its structure are likely to be required to impart or improve application benefits. It is possible to use enzymes to add functionality to polysaccharides avoiding the need to use toxic metal catalysts and solvents. However, in order to unlock this potential, there is a need to identify new and novel chitin, chitosan or other polysaccharide modifying enzymes. Previous work in our lab has resulted in the identification of a diverse and exciting range of polysaccharide modifying enzymes from microbes and insects that will form the basis of this project.
In this interdisciplinary project, we propose to use ‘omics technologies, bioinformatics and molecular biology to discover highly performing enzymes primarily to transform chitin/chitosan with options to explore other modifying polysaccharides, providing ‘natural’ materials with improved material properties further widening their use as inherently sustainable home product additives. The student will undertake experiments to produce recombinant forms of these enzymes using state of the art bacterial and yeast expression systems. Target proteins will be studied for their biochemical action on polysaccharides and how these adapt their material properties in collaboration with Professor Justin Perry in the Department of Applied Sciences at Northumbria University, Newcastle.
This studentship is a fully-funded BBSRC Industrial CASE award with an enhanced stipend (£2500 pa) in partnership with Croda, a UK-based FTSE-100 speciality chemicals company that produce high-performance ingredients for some of the biggest, most successful Consumer Care and Life Science brands in the world, creating products that are relied on by industries and consumers worldwide. The company has approximately 3500+ employees working across 18 manufacturing sites and in offices in over 30 countries.
The project will be supervised by Professor Neil Bruce and Professor Simon McQueen-Mason at the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products (CNAP) at the University of York, with joint supervision from Professor Justin Perry for broader aspects of materials chemistry and will involve interactions with researchers from the Personal Care sector at Croda. The student will also have the opportunity to gain a broad understanding of scale-up with our partners at the Biorenewables Development Centre (BDC) at York. The student will operate between CNAP, Northumbria University, BDC and Croda with the balance of time depending on the project requirement.
The Department of Biology at the University of York is committed to recruiting extraordinary future scientists regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation or career pathway to date. We understand that commitment and excellence can be shown in many ways and have built our recruitment process to reflect this. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, particularly those underrepresented in science, who have curiosity, creativity and a drive to learn new skills.
Entry Requirements: Students with, or expecting to gain, at least an upper second class honours degree, or equivalent, are invited to apply. The interdisciplinary nature of this programme means that we welcome applications from students with backgrounds in any biological, chemical, and/or physical science, or students with mathematical backgrounds who are interested in using their skills in addressing biological questions.
Programme: PhD in Biology (4 years)
Start date: 1st January 2022
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