*DSTL* Novel metal nanoparticles accessed through synthetic biology approaches

Interested individuals must follow Steps 1, 2 and 3 at this link on how to apply
http://www.ed.ac.uk/biology/prospective-students/postgraduate/pgr/how-to-apply

Metals have a finite supply; thus, metal scarcity and supply security are worldwide issues. The UK and Europe are hugely dependent on the supply of scarce metals from China, Russia, South Africa and South America. Criticality is a dynamic phenomenon, dependent on balancing usage, stocks and world politics, with the most recent assessment being EU wide identifying 20 critical raw materials that we, the people of Europe, are both heavily dependent upon for our technologies (catalysis, protective materials, electronics, fuel cells etc) and that we source from areas of conflict or questionable politics.
The aim of this proposed PhD study is to create entirely new configurations of metals within biogenic nanoparticles using synthetic biology and biotechnology. Such nanoparticles have the potential to replace those made of critical metals. Biogenic nanoparticles have already been shown to provide an enhanced resistance to corrosion in comparison to their non-biogenically derived counterparts, and can be synthesised at mild temperatures and pHs. Numerous zero-valent metal nanoparticles can be made from their salts by bioreduction, and the bacteria control this process. It has already been shown that changes to the quantities of enzymes and proteins in the nanoparticle synthesis pathway results in changes in nanoparticle size. The key focus of this proposal is to investigate whether changes to the metal selectivity of the enzymes and proteins in the pathway allow us to access entirely new configurations of metals within biogenic nanoparticles.
This project is offered in collaboration with the Université de Toulouse and links expertise in synthetic biology and bionanoparticle synthesis (UK side) and enzyme characterisation and protein engineering (French side). The selected student will be expected work for up to a year at the Université de Toulouse and develop their French language skills.

Lab website: http://horsfall.bio.ed.ac.uk/