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Faculty of Biochemical and Chemical engineering

In vitro enzyme cascades

The goal of this project is to apply an algorithm to optimize an in vitro enzyme cascade. The model cascade used in this study produces terpenes, a class of natural products with a variety of applications. To find the optimal conditions for the whole reaction cascade, an iterative approach is applied, generating information about the system in the laboratory and proposing new reaction conditions by kriging.

Interest in cell-free syntheses is increasing because they provide selectivity and specificity of biocatalysts and control over the reaction of in vitro systems. However, complex in vitro enzyme cascades rarely achieve maximum conversion because many interactions and inhibitions can interfere with the reactions. Therefore, optimization is often required, which can be challenging. The use of an algorithm can offer the advantage of a targeted, and thus less tedious and time-consuming, working method for optimizing such a complex system.

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