Research Projects

Lignocellulosic biomass, derived primarily from plant-based materials, is a cheap and sustainable source of high-value chemicals. Cellulose, about 30-50% of lignocellulosic biomass, can be broken down by enzymatic action to produce glucose. Glucose is an important intermediate that drives the production of many other valuable chemicals. One such chemical is phenyl-lactic acid (PLA). Besides being a monomer for bioplastics , it also acts as an antimicrobial compound. Here, we have proposed the usage of Bacillus subtilis as the biological machinery for converting cellulose to glucose and then from glucose to PLA. B. subtilis has a robust secretory system and a strong stress response mechanism. The proposal consists of three primary aims and one secondary aim. The first primary aim is to generate a B. subtilis strain for bioconversion of cellulose to glucose. The second primary aim is to create another B. subtilis strain for converting glucose to PLA with pyruvate as one of the critical intermediates. The third aim is to upscale PLA production using co-cultures of the previously generated strains in a fermenter. We propose to develop a possible delivery mechanism for PLA using COF (Covalent Organic Framework) nanoparticles to target a pathogenic bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus, which can cause several life-threatening illnesses. Our secondary aim is to develop the chassis so that we can make other valuable chemicals in the future.