A novel Rhamnosidase: immobilised for repeated biocatalysis use to produce high value chemicals

"Bio-inspired processes will have a major impact on the challenges of the global society in 21st century, including those associated with environmental sustainability. The employment of biocatalysts in industrial processes is expected to boost a sustainable production of chemicals, materials and fuels from renewable resources. The scope of this proposal is to encourage and translate academic research and its outcome into a novel industrially usable platform technology for the sustainable production of commercial high value materials.

Rhamnolipids (RL) are biosurfactants from the glycolipid family produced by certain microorganisms (Kiran et al. 2016\*) that could address the growing consumer demand for environmentally friendly, sustainably produced ingredients in everyday products. RL are chemical compounds composed of lipid and sugar moieties containing one (mono-RL) or two (di-RL) molecules of Rhamnose. Di-RL, Mono-RL and Rhamnose all have potential for broader commercial applications (Rhamnose in the flavour/food industry & Skincare, RLs in Skincare, Fabric/Surface Cleaning and Pharmaceuticals). This project will address key challenges in the process of the biocatalytic conversion of RL species, and will therefore be a key enabler for a scalable supply of diverse products to the market.

\* Kiran at al. (2016) Rhamnolipids Biosurfactants: evolutionary implications, applications and future prospects from untapped marine resource. Crit Rev Biotechnol., 36(3): 399-415"