Award details

The use of protein surfactants as formulation ingredients

Reference	BB/M013774/1
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Cait MacPhee
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Professor Nicola Stanley-Wall
Institution	University of Edinburgh
Department	Sch of Physics and Astronomy
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	187,166
Status	Completed
Type	Research Grant
Start date	28/02/2015
End date	27/02/2016
Duration	12 months

Abstract

unavailable

Summary

Bacteria are single celled organisms that live in social communities called biofilms. Over the millennia bacteria have evolved sophisticated strategies to introduce three-dimensionality to the biofilm. The architecturally complex structure is generated biologically using a combination of proteins and large sugar molecules that function in the environment outside the cell. One protein that is needed for biofilm formation by a bacterium called Bacillus subtilis is BslA. This protein can self-assemble into an elastic film and forms a hydrophobic "raincoat" over the cells in the biofilm protecting them from external insults. In this application we will exploit nature by using the inherent self-assembly and hydrophobic properties of BslA within a wide range of applications of high industrial significance.

Committee	Not funded via Committee
Research Topics	Industrial Biotechnology, Microbiology
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	Follow-On Fund (FOF) [2004-2015]
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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