Dr Efrain Zaraua-Arvizu
Postdoctoral Researcher
Currently, working as Postdoctoral Researcher investigating the use of biological nano-materials for innovative applications in the Biotechnology Industry.
I hold a PhD in Cell and Structural Biology at the Institute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, The University of Edinburgh.
I am developing a nano-encapsulation technology platform for the biotechnology industry to enclose difficult-to-produce proteins within protective cages; to improve stability and enhance enzymatic activity. I use Synthetic Biology tools and genetic engineering approaches.
In my spare time I like cycling, playing guitar and origami.
Public Abstract
This project aims to encapsulate single molecules using nano-cages. Through genetic engineering we use bacteria to produce the nano-cages as well as the molecules that will be enclosed within them. The production of encapsulated compounds provides potential benefits for their industrial and pharmaceutical applications. For instance, the isolation of toxic compound can prevent cellular damage and/or protect the encaged molecules from external harm which corresponds to better production yields. Moreover, by engineering the nano-capsules, it is possible to use them as drug carriers to direct pharmaceutical particles to specific target organs - working as a highly specialised drug delivery system. What’s more, the encapsulation of drugs diminishes unwanted interactions and toxicity for untargeted cells, which could decrease undesirable side effects.
Scientific Abstract
The production of recombinant proteins plays a vital role in the biotechnology industry e.g., drugs, antibiotics, flavours and enzymes. Consequently, several technologies have been developed to enhance protein production in common industrial hosts. However, there are still several challenges to controlling the production of toxic intermediate metabolites within the host, or to achieving high production levels of toxic proteins, as well as the maintenance of stable proteins by ensuring their appropriate folding and stability. Furthermore, the purification of these protein products can be challenging. The bacterial nanocompartments (encapsulins), produced by some species of bacteria and archaea, possess characteristics that can potentially overcome current challenges related to the recombinant production of proteins. Encapsulins are simple icosahedral protein nano-cages that encapsulate single enzyme species to protect the cell from oxidative damage. Encapsulins are beneficial to cells because they increase the local concentration of enzymes, discriminate molecule access, ease substrate transfer and enclose toxic products. The primary objectives of this project is to engineer bacterial encapsulins to create a platform capable of encapsulating high-value proteins, in order to both increase their production and enhance enzyme activity for downstream applications, by using synthetic biology approaches based on modular DNA assembly methods.