Distributed manufacturing replaces large national facilities with smaller regional sites. It can relieve the stress on supply chains by shortening them. It also uses local resources more effectively. Microbes can convert local biomass into products. Their metabolic flexibility enables a wide variety of products to be made. It also offers the potential for rapid switching between products to meet local, regional, or national needs. The goal of this project is to create and demonstrate modular bioreactor technologies. These will allow repurposing of existing manufacturing facilities. They can be tuned to local biomass resources as well as specific products. The modular design will facilitate nimble responses to rapid shifts in demand and supply. Broad participation in research will strengthen the US bioeconomy.
Synthetic biology offers the means of producing a diverse array of high-value products from common biomass feedstocks. The goal of this project is to develop and integrate modular unit operations (e.g. continuous flow 3D-printed bioreactors) that will enable quick transitions from product to product in response to changing market needs. They will utilize common and locally available feedstocks and equipment. Transitions will be accomplished by exchange and/or re-configuration of modular reaction units. The project specifically targets the production of high-value natural medicines and drugs. The project team will integrate expertise in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering with recent materials innovations (e.g. 3D printed cell-laden bioreactors). The development of 3D-printed cell-laden hydrogel structures will permit continuous-flow operation and process intensification to facilitate transport processes, reduce reactor sizes and allow for re-configuration.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
