Project description
Synthetic biology delivers photosynthetic, hydrogen-producing biofilm-like materials
Protocells are self-assembled compartments formed by the aggregation of non-living components. They are an evolutionary intermediate between inorganic matter and living cells. Beyond their potential as models of evolution, they could also play roles in application areas including biomedicine, biofuels and environmental sciences. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the PROTO-BACT project plans to create tailor-made cyanobacteria-like protocells to use their capability for hydrogen production. The project aims to chemically program the ‘cells’ to self-assemble into the first autonomous and photosynthetic biofilm-like material. The resultant 3D architecture will enable photo-mechano-chemical transduction, leading to autonomous, self-regulating behaviour, including the production of hydrogen and formaldehyde from visible light, water and methanol.
Objective
Broad interest is devoted nowadays to filling the breach between biology and chemistry in order to comprehend the frontier between living and non-living systems. In this context, protocells are autonomous and self-sustained entities fabricated from scratch, which may exhibit one or more characteristics of actual cells. This project aims at synthesizing cyanobacteria mimics capable of producing H2 and formaldehyde from visible light, water, and methanol. The active material for photosynthesis shall be a semiconducting heterojunction based on BiVO4 and Rh-doped SrTiO3-Pt for Z-scheme photocatalysis. The photocatalyst shall be contained within functional protein-polymer protocell membranes referred to as proteinosomes. These photosynthetic protocells will then be chemically programmed to self-assemble into the first autonomous and photosynthetic biofilm-like material (BFM). The careful three-dimensional design of the BFM, consisting in a combination of mechano-passive, mechano-active and photocatalytic layers of specialized proteinosomes, will allow an emergent and unprecedented photo-mechano-chemical transduction. Therefore, the BFM will be able of an autonomous and self-regulating behavior out of equilibrium. This proposal pushes forward the borders of bottom-up synthetic biology via a nice interdisciplinary interaction with semiconductor photochemistry. Furthermore, an alternative and sustainable route to the production of green fuels is provided, which brings an original solution to the current planetary energetic crisis.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences chemical sciences physical chemistry photochemistry
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
34127 Trieste
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.