Encapsulin engineering for metal nanoparticle production
dc.contributor.advisor
Horsfall, Louise
dc.contributor.advisor
Wood, Chris
dc.contributor.author
Scheier, Matthew
dc.contributor.sponsor
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl)
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dc.contributor.sponsor
University of Edinburgh
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dc.date.accessioned
2023-12-14T15:04:21Z
dc.date.available
2023-12-14T15:04:21Z
dc.date.issued
2023-12-14
dc.description.abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of technology in our
society and emphasised the fragility of supply lines. Governments have identified
metal supply chains as a security concern, highlighted by the World Trade
Organisation. At the same time, the shift towards a greener economy, which places a significant emphasis on metals, has led to an increase in prices, with some metals reaching ten-year highs. To move towards a circular economy, it is essential to develop a sustainable method for recovering metal ions from waste streams. This study aims to achieve this by using synthetic biology to recover and upcycle metal ions as metal nanoparticles through protein nanocompartments called encapsulins.
Encapsulins can limit the size and shape of nanoparticles, increase their stability,
and be directly functionalised.
To test encapsulins with different metal binding specificities, a modular DNA
assembly kit was modified for rapid cloning. Each variant was expressed in vivo and purified for in vitro experiments. Escherichia coli cells had enhanced resistance to silver ions and improved metal recovery for silver and gold ions in vivo when expressing the encapsulin variants. In vitro experiments and electron microscopy confirmed that purified encapsulins could assemble and precipitate metal ions as nanoparticles. Molecular dynamics simulations were used to understand how ions pass through encapsulin pores and how they were distributed within the encapsulin. Point mutations were made to the encapsulin pore and screened in silico with the aim of occluding metal ions based on size. A DNA library was constructed to screen the encapsulin mutants, including the in silico mutants, for their ability to occlude metal ions in vivo.
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dc.identifier.uri
https://hdl.handle.net/1842/41295
dc.identifier.uri
http://dx.doi.org/10.7488/era/4031
dc.language.iso
en
en
dc.publisher
The University of Edinburgh
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dc.rights.embargodate
2026-12-14
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dc.subject
Encapsulin
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dc.subject
metal nanoparticle production
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dc.subject
synthetic biology
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dc.subject
upcycle metal ions
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dc.subject
metal nanoparticles
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dc.subject
protein nanocompartments
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dc.subject
encapsulins
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dc.title
Encapsulin engineering for metal nanoparticle production
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dc.type
Thesis or Dissertation
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dc.type.qualificationlevel
Doctoral
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dc.type.qualificationname
PhD Doctor of Philosophy
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dcterms.accessRights
RESTRICTED ACCESS
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