9406289 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Georges Belfort ABSTRACT A foremost aim of this research will be the development of a simple, inexpensive and generic approach to immobilize affinity, reactive, or catalytic groups to synthetic membranes. In this case, the work will involve construction and expression in E. coli of a gene for unique fusion proteins consisting of a cellulose binding domain region and a catalytic antibody-biosynthetic enzyme portion (CBDE2-43C9). The cellulose binding domain permits attachment to cellulosic membranes while the affinity or catalytic group tailors the membrane reactor for specific applications. Membrane reactors are attractive because they can allow continuous operation, enhance mass transfer, and facilitate product isolation. These factors help to make processing more economical in the chemical and biotechnology industries.
