How a Biocatalyst Might Boost the Growth of Microalgae

26-Jun-2024 - A sensor for nitrogen could be hidden behind the extension of an enzyme for the breakdown of starch. If this sensor detects a high level of nitrogen, algal growth switches into turbo mode. Living organisms consist to a large extent of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) compounds. These have to be taken ...

Paving the Way for Hydrogen from Algae Enzymes

A research team has identified a crucial detail that’s essential for the production of hydrogen using biocatalysts

05-Jun-2024 - Under certain conditions, some algae are able to produce hydrogen – a much sought-after green energy source. Its production takes place in the unique catalytic center of the unicellular algae and is only possible if certain cofactors of the relevant proteins are present. Researchers at Ruhr ...

How to make ubiquitous plastics biodegradable

Understanding the function of a specific bacterial enzyme has paved the way for the biotechnological degradation of styrene

22-May-2024 - Polystyrene is made from styrene building blocks and is the most widely used plastic in terms of volume, for example in packaging. Unlike PET, which can now be produced and recycled using biotechnological methods, the production of polystyrene has so far been a purely chemical process. The ...

Releasing Brakes on Biocatalysis

The new findings could play a role in H2 technologies

01-Dec-2023 - Formaldehyde can inhibit enzymes that produce hydrogen particularly efficiently. Researchers from Bochum have discovered how this can be prevented. Enzymes from microorganisms can produce hydrogen (H2) under certain conditions, which makes them potential biocatalysts for biobased H2 technologies. ...

Tiny Beads Preserve Enzymes for Biocatalysis

Increased the stability of the enzymes under plasma treatment up to a factor of 44

23-Nov-2023 - Plasmas can provide the co-substrate needed for biocatalysis of valuable substances, but are also harmful to enzymes. By attaching enzymes to small beads the enzymes are protected and remain active up to 44 times longer. Some enzymes, such as the one derived from fungi and investigated in this ...

Hydrogen-producing enzyme protects itself against oxygen

The discovery may make it possible to use oxygen-stable enzymes as hydrogen producers

04-Feb-2021 - An international research team from the Photobiotechnology Research Group at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) led by Professor Thomas Happe and the Laboratoire de Bioénergétique et Ingénierie des Protéines (CNRS) in Marseille has been able to get to the bottom of this unique feature. They describe ...

Tiny helpers turn waste into valuable materials

Leaving oil behind and moving towards renewable raw materials: the chemical industry hopes to succeed in this with the help of microorganisms and enzymes

15-Sep-2020 - The idea is that bacteria shouldn’t only convert waste products into valuable chemicals, but also draw energy from them. After all, they too can be reused for subsequent processes. This vision is what drives Professor Dirk Tischler, who heads the Microbial Biotechnology research group at ...

How to make biocatalysts immortal

10-Oct-2019 - Oxygen threatens sustainable catalysts that use hydrogen to produce electricity in fuel cells. Researchers from Bochum and Marseille have developed a way to combat this. Efficient catalysts for converting hydrogen into electricity in fuel cells for the energy transition are often based on ...

Next step on the path towards an efficient biofuel cell

Two concepts combined making system as efficient as precious metal catalysts

16-Nov-2018 - Fuel cells that work with the enzyme hydrogenase are, in principle, just as efficient as those that contain the expensive precious metal platinum as a catalyst. However, the enzymes need an aqueous environment, which makes it difficult for the starting material for the reaction – hydrogen – to ...

Synthesis of hydrogen: Enzymes assemble themselves in the test tube

01-Jun-2016 - Researchers from Bochum have engineered a hydrogen-producing enzyme in the test tube that works as efficiently as the original. The protein - a so-called hydrogenase from green algae - is made up of a protein scaffold and a cofactor. The latter is the reaction centre where the substances that ...