Projects
In addition to our four core Themes (Building Metabolism, Living Construction, Microbial Environments, Responsible Interaction), Research Groups (RG) and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) there are a number of Projects researched on within the HBBE.
Fibre Fusion: Circular Manufacturing of Water Repelling Bacterial Cellulose Through a Biological Approach
The aim of the Fibre Fusion Project is to develop a new, biologically based, efficient fabrication process for bio- based textiles.
Enzymatic upcycling of textile waste into biodegradable mycelium leather
The aim of the project is to develop a new, biologically based, efficient fabrication process for bio-based textiles.
Living Manufacture
The Living Manufacture Project envisages a bioreactor containing a co-culture of cellulose producing bacterium and bacterium which, in response to a light (optogenetic input), can selectively produce pigments, compounds, biocatalysts and/or non-catalytic proteins. These additions can modify the cellulose molecular structure and result in various material properties.
Thinking Soils
The Thinking Soils Project anticipates a new era of fabrication driven by Synthetic Biology and our ability to manipulate living organisms to make new materials and structures. It is going beyond the usual application domains of Synthetic Biology by applying it to Civil Engineering Design. To achieve this researchers within this project will develop a living material which can respond to physical forces in its environment through the synthesis of strengthening materials.
RESPIRE: Passive, Responsive, Variable Porosity Building Skins (Funded by Leverhulme Trust)
This three year project led by Ben Bridgens, Helen Mitrani and Jane Scott aims to create a new generation of low-cost, low-environmental impact, responsive building skins that moderate internal temperature and humidity by varying their porosity. This transformative approach would improve internal air quality and eliminate the need for energy-intensive, high-maintenance mechanical ventilation systems, enabling fully passive, zero-energy buildings.
An omics-based approach to identifying novel biocatalysts and metabolites (Funded by IBioIC)
This project will use high-resolution mass-spectrometry to identify metabolites in Escherichia coli clones expressing recombinant enzymes. Synthetic biology approaches will then be used to engineer these clones to over-produce any novel metabolites
Principles for Microbial 3D Printer (Funded by EPSRC)
This project proposes the first steps to develop a 3D printing process which involves the synthesis and modification of materials from live microbes to make 3D functionally graded materials and objects. We will integrate genetically engineered microbes and the design and building a novel bioreactor as a new type of 3D printer.
Demand Led Enzyme Development for Consumer Products (Funded by P&G)
This project will identify and produce novel enzymes for detergent formulations to improve cleaning by targeting a variety of polysaccharide-based soil components on clothing and dishware for improved detergent sustainability.
