Team:TU Darmstadt/Description
Diclofenac, a commonly used pain killer, cannot be filtered out in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP).[1] Measurements have shown that in some water areas in Germany the concentration is higher than the PNEC (predicted no effect concentration).[2]Such high concentrations can cause problems for aquatic fauna[3] and flora[4]. To learn more about the effects of diclofenac or other micropollutants we talked to several experts like an ecotoxicologist.
To help cleaning the wastewater, we developed a specialized Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) biofilm. Such bacterial biofilms are already used in WWTP[5] to help cleaning the wastewater, but diclofenac has remained a problem[1]. There are many approaches to oxidize diclofenac and most of them use an enzyme class called laccase[6][7][8][9]. But how should the laccase be applied in WWTP? Our solution combines the already used B. subtilis biofilms with the laccases and enables the biofilm to render diclofenac less toxic. As soon as our bacteria are modified, they are able to immobilize the laccase in the extracellular matrix. There is no further purification or immobilization step necessary, what makes the system easy to use.
To make sure, our genetically modified organisms would not leave the WWTP we designed a kill switch. This system leads to the death of the bacteria, when they leave the biofilm. We call our project “B-TOX”. It has the potential to reduce wastewater toxicity and to contribute to the fight against global environmental pollution.
To increase the acceptance for our project in the society we focused on science communication. Therefore, we started our podcast “Genomenal” where we do not only talk about our project, but also about biotechnology in general.
To help cleaning the wastewater, we developed a specialized Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) biofilm. Such bacterial biofilms are already used in WWTP[5] to help cleaning the wastewater, but diclofenac has remained a problem[1]. There are many approaches to oxidize diclofenac and most of them use an enzyme class called laccase[6][7][8][9]. But how should the laccase be applied in WWTP? Our solution combines the already used B. subtilis biofilms with the laccases and enables the biofilm to render diclofenac less toxic. As soon as our bacteria are modified, they are able to immobilize the laccase in the extracellular matrix. There is no further purification or immobilization step necessary, what makes the system easy to use.
To make sure, our genetically modified organisms would not leave the WWTP we designed a kill switch. This system leads to the death of the bacteria, when they leave the biofilm. We call our project “B-TOX”. It has the potential to reduce wastewater toxicity and to contribute to the fight against global environmental pollution.
To increase the acceptance for our project in the society we focused on science communication. Therefore, we started our podcast “Genomenal” where we do not only talk about our project, but also about biotechnology in general.
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References
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