Found 2 matching student topics
Displaying 1–2 of 2 results
Powerful enzymes to break stuff and make stuff
We need new ways to re-use and recycle complex polymers like plastics and biomass. With biological approaches we could potentially break polymers down into their monomeric components and convert these into new and different materials.This project focuses on improving our understanding of laccases - a powerful class of enzymes that can both break down and rebuild lignin (and potentially some plastics).There is a big functional divergence between bacterial and fungal laccases. Fungal laccases have very high redox potentials and can …
- Study level
- Vacation research experience scheme
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Biology and Environmental Science
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy
Resurrecting ancient enzymes for high-temperature biocatalysis
Cytochrome P450 enzymes (P450s) can be used to perform a range of chemical transformations with exquisite selectivity that can be difficult or sometimes impossible to achieve with conventional synthetic chemistry. However, most enzymes are incompatible with the high temperatures encountered in industrial processes.Ancestral protein reconstruction is a computational technique where you can try to predict an ancient protein sequence by building a phylogenetic tree based on evolutionarily-related sequences from the present day. Professor Elizabeth Gillam from The University of Queensland …
- Study level
- Vacation research experience scheme
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Biology and Environmental Science
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy