Genetically engineered polymers

Keywords Elastinlike polymers Genetic engineering Protein-based polymers -Self-assembly Smart polymers... 

Besides the classical photothermoplasts, LC side-chain polymers with distinct phase changes also are well suited for holographic purposes, and biopolymers from genetically engineered bacteriorhodopsine (BR) have been discussed as a holographic material. 

Another example from the "bio-world" is the production of micro-organisms for optimum product yield and quality. An example could be micro-organisms for the production of penicillin, whereas recently there have been developments to explore routes to produce monomers for synthetic polymers by means of micro-organisms. Diversity in the micro-organisms to be tested can be achieved either by genetic engineering or by random mutagenesis. 

By means of genetic engineering, including cloning and site-directed mutagenesis, it has become possible for modern synthetic chemists to utilize a sufficient amount of isolated enzyme catalysts and to modify the reactivity, stability, or even specificity of enzymes. Therefore, polymerizations catalyzed by isolated enzyme are expected to create a new area of precision polymer syntheses. Furthermore, enzymatic polymerizations have great potential as an environmentally friendly synthetic process of polymeric materials. 

Anderson, J. P., Cappello.J., and Martin, D. C. (1994). Morphology and primary crystal-structure of a silk-like protein polymer synthesized by genetically-engineered Escherichia-coli bacteria. Biopolymers 34, 1049-1058. 

Figure 3 Schematic illustration of a hybrid hydrogel system—genetically engineered coiled-coil protein domains used to crosslink synthetic water-soluble polymers. Divalent transition metal ions are shown to form complexes with nitrogen-oxygen-donor ligands on the synthetic polymer side chains and the terminal histidine residues in the coiled coils.

T0609 PhytoWorks, Inc., Mercury Removal Using Genetically Engineered Plants T0615 Polymer-Based Solidification/Stabilization—General... 

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