Optizyme: Computationally Optimizing PET Degradation
Communities around the world deal with the adverse effects of Microplastics contamination of major water sources. PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) is one of the largest contributors to the ever-growing issue, which poises significant environmental and public health risks. With our team spread throughout the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have taken a unique computational approach to devising and refining a system for PET degradation that we aim to make applicable to diverse systems of biosynthesis and biocatalysis.
Our overarching goal is to develop an effective means of optimizing a novel system that uses 4 enzymes from E.coli to degrade PET to catechol(an aromatic compound with a number of industrial applications) using computational methods. We have developed stochastic and deterministic models (Michaelis-Menten, Gillespie, etc.) for simulating our degradation pathway based on our enzymes, and an algorithm for optimizing turnover rate. We believe that our methods may offer groups working in similar systems of biosynthesis an opportunity for significantly increasing system efficiency and output. Our data will inform the design of the cell free system we plan to create in a wet-lab setting and enable us to build upon the work of past iGEM teams that completed projects on PET degradation.
- Short Name: #Optizyme
- Created on: August 12, 2020
- Last update: August 13, 2020