Project description
Guanine crystals: a safe and sustainable food additive
Titanium oxide, a versatile material known for its optical properties and stability, has been used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and as a food additive. Following its ban from the food industry due to health concerns, there is a need for safer alternatives. The ERC-funded CrystalCellFactory project proposes guanine crystals as alternatives to titanium oxide: they naturally reflect light and offer good optical properties, thermostability and compatibility. Researchers will explore yeast as a biofactory to synthesise guanine crystals using guanine-producing enzymes from zebrafish. The project will map the market potential of their technology for commercial exploitation within the EU food industry.
Objective
"The superior optical properties and stability of Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has made the material attractive to many industries, for use in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. Despite these benefits, the wide use of TiO2 has raised significant health concerns, culminating in the 2022 European Union's decision to ban its use as a food additive. This regulatory shift has precipitated an urgent demand for healthier, environmentally sustainable alternatives that do not compromise on performance. Unfortunately, current alternatives fail to match TiO2 in terms of efficacy and stability, thereby limiting their adoption. This PoC, proposes an innovative solution by which yeast serve as eco-friendly ""biofactories"" to produce guanine crystals. These crystals, which are naturally utilized by animals to reflect light, possess remarkable optical properties, with enhanced thermostability, and superior compatibility compared to current TiO2 alternatives. We will modify yeast to express the specialized highly efficient guanine-producing enzymes, originally identified in zebrafish as part of our ERC project. Inspired by nature, our project will exploit yeast's remarkable biosynthetic abilities to obtain efficient production of these crystals. Our preliminary results demonstrate the feasibility of this approach, and are backed by robust metabolomic profiling that enables precise measurement of guanine levels, identification of metabolic bottlenecks, and detection of by-products. In preparation for commercial rollout, our strategy involves mapping our innovation within the EU food industry, identifying precise market segments, and crafting an initial business model. This multifaceted approach is designed to both showcase the economic viability and market potential of our yeast-produced guanine crystals and also to position them as a safe, sustainable, and high-performing TiO2 alternative, in line with the EU's health-centric regulatory framework and consumer expectations."
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.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry transition metals
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
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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.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants
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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) ERC-2024-POC
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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.
7610001 Rehovot
Israel
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.