The objective of this research is to explore the feasibility of designing and engineering subcellular bioreactors to selectively concentrate and convert metal ions to particles in support of circular economy strategies. The co-expression of ferritin compartments and metal-converting enzymes would allow in vivo assembly of subcellular bioreactors that extract metal ions and produce metallic particles.
Research Goals
Aim 1 is to evaluate the in vivo assembly of subcellular bioreactors.
Aim 2 is to determine the metal-concentrating ability of intracellular ferritin.
Aim 3 is to assess the formation of metallic particles in ferritin reactors.