NANOFOLDEX: Exploiting the secretion machinery of pseudomonads for the nanotechnological production of pharmaceuticals

• Research unit: EU RFP
• Project number: 02.0278-1

Key words (English)

Biotechnology; Environmental Protection; Innovation; Technology Transfer; Life Sciences; Medicine; Health; Waste Management

Alternative project number (English)

EU project number: QLK3-CT-2002-0286

Research programs (English)

EU-programme: 5. Frame Research Programme - 1.1.3 The 'cell factory'

Short description (English)

See abstract

Further information (English)

Full name of research-institution/enterprise:
LONZA LTD
Biotechnology Research and Development

Abstract (English)

The use of enzymes as biocatalysts is a rapidly developing field of immense academic and industrial interest. Several biocatalysts as lipases and penicillin acylases proved to be optimally suited for the nanotechnological production of therapeutic compounds including enantio-pure pharmaceuticals. At present, however, these biocatalysts cannot be produced in sufficient amounts and at a reasonable price because traditional production hosts like Bacillus and Aspergillus do not support their correct folding and secretion. This proposal aims at providing a solution to this problem by construction of a Gram-negative secretion host strain with its periplasm engineered into a compartment optimised for the assembly and folding of complex biocatalysts. The barrier in the secretion pathway imposed by the bacterial outer membrane will be overcome by relaxing the selectivity and specificity of the secretion machinery using nanobiotechnological strategies.

References in databases (English)

Swiss Database: Euro-DB of the
State Secretariat for Education and Research
Hallwylstrasse 4
CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland
Tel. [phone]
Swiss Project-Number: 02.0278-1