Nucleating the growth of biofilms for biocatalysis with polymer chemistry

Dr F Fernandez-Trillo
Dr T Overton
Sunday, January 06, 2019
Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

About This PhD Project

Project Description
Funding Notes
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Project Description

Bacteria often attach to surfaces in the form of biofilms. Biofilms represent a problem in many medical and industrial settings as they are physically tough and hard to kill or remove from surfaces. However, these characteristics make biofilms a potentially very useful platform for biocatalysis, where bacteria are used to make chemicals for a variety of purposes. This project will focus on controlling the way in which bacteria attach to surfaces, so we can specify when and where biofilms form.
In this project, we will investigate the use of synthetic polymers to nucleate the growth of biofilms that will be utilised as a platform for biocatalysis. We will develop a high-throughput platform to evaluate how polymer length and composition determines the phenotype of the formed biofilms and their potential to produce relevant metabolites. This work has relevance in the production of pharmaceuticals, and potential applications for synthesis of fine chemicals. This project is highly multidisciplinary and involves a collaboration between Dr Francisco Fernandez-Trillo (Polymer Chemistry, Nanotechnology), Dr Tim Overton (Mircrobiology, Biotechnology) and Prof. Mark Simmonds (Biocatalysis, Fluid Mechanics)
For further details about the project, please contact Dr Fernandez-Trillo ([email protected]).

Funding Notes

This studentship is competition funded by the BBSRC MIBTP scheme: View Website
Stipend: RCUK standard rate (plus additional travel allowance in year 1 and a laptop)
The Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership (MIBTP) is a BBSRC-funded doctoral training partnership between the universities of Warwick, Birmingham and Leicester. It delivers innovative, world-class research training across the Life Sciences to boost the growing Bioeconomy across the UK.
To check your eligibility to apply for this project please visit: View Website

Please contact [email protected] for details regarding funding and the application procedure.

Related Subjects

How good is research at University of Birmingham in Chemistry?

FTE Category A staff submitted: 28.00

Research output data provided by the Research Excellence Framework (REF)

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Nucleating the growth of biofilms for biocatalysis with polymer chemistry

University of Birmingham

School of Chemistry

Birmingham