Synthetic CO2-fixating biocatalytic cycles: a study on the current strategies and computational optimisation prospects

Ungureanu, Vlad-Andrei (2024) Synthetic CO2-fixating biocatalytic cycles: a study on the current strategies and computational optimisation prospects. Bachelor's Thesis, Life Science and Technology.

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Abstract

The increasing levels of anthropogenic CO2 emissions in the atmosphere are directly linked to the global warming crisis. This results in a growing scientific interest in harnessing the compound and using it to alleviate the environmental crisis, coupled with the generation of valuable organic products. Biological CO2 fixation is the most effective mechanism for incorporating the gas in the biosphere at a large scale. However, it does not succeed to outweigh the climatic issue, as a consequence of inefficient biocatalysis and susceptibility to the formation of undesired side products in oxygenic conditions. Therefore, the synthetic biology field proposes new-to-nature biocatalytic cycles meant to surpass these limitations, fixing CO2 at high rates and generating diverse and useful organic compounds. This thesis aimed to study the current strategies for designing such artificial metabolic networks and identify common motifs, challenges and future prospects. Moreover, it complemented the imminent limitations of these pathways by outlining computational analysis methods such as molecular dynamics simulations, molecular modelling and AI-driven protein engineering endeavours, towards suggesting how CO2 fixation can be optimised, particularly in regards to carboxylases. All in all, the study suggested how research could improve synthetic CO2 fixation for a greener future.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor's Thesis)
Supervisor name:	Furst, M.J.L.J. and Fraaije, M.W.
Degree programme:	Life Science and Technology
Thesis type:	Bachelor's Thesis
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	10 Jul 2024 11:47
Last Modified:	10 Jul 2024 11:47
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/33173

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