Get ready for a game-changing collaboration that could revolutionize drug delivery! The University of Liverpool and CyanoCapture Ltd are joining forces to create a bionanotech breakthrough.
But here’s where it gets controversial… they’re harnessing the power of cyanobacteria, those fast-growing microorganisms, to develop targeted drug delivery systems. And this is the part most people miss: these tiny organisms have unique traits that make them ideal for this purpose.
Through an exciting 12-month research partnership, these two entities will combine their expertise. CyanoCapture brings to the table its proprietary genetic engineering tools, specially engineered cyanobacteria strains, and peptide expression technology. Meanwhile, Professor Luning Liu’s laboratory at Liverpool has been pioneering research in engineering protein nanocages for biopharmaceutical applications.
Professor Liu, an expert in microbial bioenergetics and bioengineering, has made significant strides in understanding how to load carboxysomes with peptide cargoes, including enzymes and recombinant proteins. Carboxysomes, you see, are bacterial microcompartments filled with enzymes essential for carbon dioxide fixation. They’re like tiny factories within bacteria, and they can be engineered to do some pretty amazing things.
CyanoCapture, a leader in industrial synthetic biology, has successfully scaled up the cultivation of its cell lines to an impressive 3400 liters with record-breaking productivities. They’re using advanced genetic engineering and multi-omics datasets to reprogram the world’s fastest-growing photosynthetic cells into biological factories capable of manufacturing hard-to-synthesize peptide molecules directly from CO2, nitrates, and phosphates. Talk about turning waste into wealth!
This collaboration is supported by the University’s Partnership and Innovation Fund (PIF), and CyanoCapture is sponsoring a Postdoctoral Research Assistant to work in the Liu lab on novel IP co-developed by Prof. Luning Liu and CyanoCapture. Additionally, they’re co-supervising a PhD student under a four-year program funded by BBSRC DTP to further explore cyanobacterial CO2 fixation and carboxysome engineering.
So, what exactly are carboxysomes? Think of them as tiny protein shells, about 100 nanometers in diameter, filled with enzymes that are essential for carbon dioxide fixation. They’re like specialized compartments within bacteria, found in all cyanobacteria and many chemotrophic bacteria. And here’s the exciting part: recent research by the Liu lab has shown that these structures can be loaded with other cargo molecules of interest, instead of the usual enzymes.
The collaboration between the University and CyanoCapture will focus on developing innovative methods for producing targeted delivery systems using these engineered carboxysomes. They’ll be combining advanced molecular biology techniques, such as CRISPR, with scalable biomanufacturing systems, taking production from 15 liters to a whopping 1000 liters for real-world industrial applications.
Professor Luning Liu from the Institute of Systems, Molecular, and Integrative Biology said, “Our research has revealed fundamental mechanisms by which cyanobacteria build and optimize their carbon assimilation machinery. By partnering with CyanoCapture, we can translate these discoveries into practical solutions for next-generation biomanufacturing.”
Dr. David Kim, CEO of CyanoCapture Ltd, added, “AI x Drug Discovery will create an explosion in novel drugs and vaccines. But some may fail at clinical trials due to off-target effects. We’re combining Liverpool’s world-class expertise in bionanotechnology with our cyanobacterial platform to solve this problem. Our joint project will invent the next generation of affordable protein nanocages that may be able to load peptides to target specific tissues.”
This collaboration has the potential to revolutionize drug delivery and make a significant impact on the healthcare industry. It’s an exciting development, and we can’t wait to see the outcomes of this partnership!