Author: Rowan McDonough
McDonough, Rowan, 2020 Silica Nanoparticles as a platform for intelligent cofactor immobilisation for biosynthetic applications, Flinders University, College of Science and Engineering
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A modified version of the cofactor NAD has been chemically tethered to the surface of silica nanoparticles via an intelligently designed linker arm. Tethering has the potential to allow stabilisation, retention and re-use of NAD in highly efficient biosynthetic flow systems. In depth investigation of the reaction kinetics of freely diffusing enzymes with tethered NAD has revealed an kinetic rate enhancement mechanism at low enzyme and cofactor concentrations, as well as a large enhancement in lifetime of tethered NAD. This work has demonstrated the great potential of tethered NAD in industrial biocatalytric processes, bio-sensing and medical applications such as in-vitro drug breakdown.
Keywords: Silica nanoparticle, cofactor, NAD, kinetics, biosynthetic, thiol-ene
Subject: Nanotechnology thesis
Thesis type: Doctor of Philosophy
Completed: 2020
School: College of Science and Engineering
Supervisor: David Lewis