[SCAN] Biocatalysis for industrial biotechnology
Ligia Martins, Microbial & Enzyme Technology Lab, ITQB
| When |
06 May, 2015
from
12:00 pm to 01:00 pm |
|---|---|
| Where | Auditorium |
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Scan Seminar
Title: Biocatalysis for industrial biotechnology
Speaker: Ligia Martins
From: Microbial & Enzyme Technology Lab, ITQB
Abstract:
Biocatalysis is considered a key component for the development of a sustainable bio-economy and the use of enzymes as biocatalysts has been constantly growing in a range of industries. Enzymes are sustainable, selective and efficient, and offer a variety of benefits such as cleaner reactions and increased specificity, with lower energy requirements.
In recent years we have successfully established a research program focused on the investigation of bacterial oxidoreductases, laccases and metallo-oxidases, from the family of multicopper oxidases, NAD(P)H:FMN-dependent quinone(dye) reductases and dye-decolourising peroxidases, a new microbial family of heme peroxidases, with potential application in the bioremediation and biorefinery fields.
The mechanistic and structural properties of the enzymes were thoroughly investigated in order to understand the basic determinants of their catalytic and stability properties. Multidisciplinary investigations demonstrate the efficiency of these enzymes for the degradation of synthetic and natural aromatic substrates, such as dyes or lignin model compounds, as well as for the synthesis of aromatic added-value compounds. Directed evolution methodologies were optimized for the improvement of enzyme´s performance and robustness.
Our aim is to use the acquired knowledge and tools to set-up new multi-step (chemo)enzymatic processes to help in the degradation of plant biomass and for the production of industrially interesting compounds from synthetic dye-containing effluents and lignin, currently considered a bio-waste by the pulping industry due to its recalcitrance towards degradation, contributing for the creation of a circular economy and for the smart and efficient use of resources.
