FPI Contract Offer for Doctoral Thesis
TRANSFORMATION OF WASTE INTO FUNCTIONAL INGREDIENTS CATALYZED BY IMMOBILIZED-STABILIZED ENZYME DERIVATIVES
Information PROF. JOSE MANUEL GUISAN SEIJAS
CATALYSIS INSTITUTE. ICP-CSIC
91 585 48 09
email: jmguisan@icp.csic.es
This project aims to optimize the enzymatic synthesis of different functional ingredients: xylo-oligosaccharides, galacto-oligosaccharides, lactulose, etc. In all cases, the raw materials are very cheap and in some cases polluting: whey from cheese factories, xylan, and therefore the key to the optimization of these processes is the preparation of immobilized enzyme derivatives with very good properties of activity, selectivity and stability. Biocatalyst Engineering will be developed using new techniques for the targeted stiffening of enzymes immobilized on monofunctional and heterofunctional glyoxyl supports.
In addition, we will try to advance in some additional novel problems related to the main objective: a.- Separation and evaluation of each of the betagalactosidases contained in the commercial sample of betagalactosidase of Bacillus circulans, b.- use of a recombinant and easily purifiable (therefore very cheap) preparation of beta-galactosidase of Escherichia coli, c.- the fine-tuning of the enzymatic synthesis of lactulose, etc.
These objectives will be addressed by a multidisciplinary team from the ICP-CSIC and the CIAL-CSIC that has been working together for more than 10 years in the search for useful enzymes in food, in the engineering of enzymatic biocatalysts and in the engineering of the synthesis of functional ingredients.