UCLA researchers in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry have developed a system for regulation of cofactors in cell free biochemical production.
Plant and microbe based production of chemicals offers several advantages over petroleum-based methods such as a lower carbon footprint, use of sustainable energy source and in some cases biodegradability. However, the low yields and productivity, in part due to the complexity of living systems has limited their industrial applications. Additionally, the production methods are expensive and do not allow for modulation as an in vitro method would. Therefore, an optimized system with high yield is desired.
UCLA researchers have developed a cell-free approach for production of chemicals. Their method involves combining different metabolic pathways in vitro. They have optimized the method to include a ‘molecular rheostat’ that regulates and recycles ATP, an expensive cofactor utilized in nearly all bio-based chemical production methods. They have utilized the rheostat for production of isobutanol from glucose and obtained a two-fold increase with yields of up to 24 g/L.
Proof of concept system designed and tested for isobutanol production
Country | Type | Number | Dated | Case |
Australia | Issued Patent | 2017345324 | 06/08/2023 | 2017-391 |
Singapore | Issued Patent | 11201903429Q | 03/31/2023 | 2017-391 |
Japan | Issued Patent | 7206202 | 01/06/2023 | 2017-391 |
European Patent Office | Published Application | 3529365 | 08/28/2019 | 2017-391 |
India | Published Application | 201917019483 A. | 08/09/2019 | 2017-391 |
Additional Patents Pending
Bioplastic, metabolic engineering, synthetic engineering, cell-free production, biofuels