Research Position-Bommarius Group

Research Positions for Undergraduates, Fall term 2012

The Bommarius lab seeks undergraduate students interested in challenging research!

The Bommarius laboratory (ChBE, CHEM, Bioengineering) specializes in biocatalysis, green

chemistry, protein stability, and biochemical engineering. We seek self-motivated, hard-working

student researchers interested to continue for a doctoral degree, preferentially a PhD, after

college, to work on cutting-edge research problems and to learn new skills.

Eligibility:

i) graduation date (B.S.) between 05/13 and 05/15 in BIOL, BMED, CEE, ChBE, or CHEM

ii) GPA at Georgia Tech > 3.30, preferably > 3.5

iii) basic laboratory skills, enthusiasm, self-motivation, flexibility, independence

iv) start in Fall 2012 for credit, continuation during 2013 possible and expected

Interested?: Please email resume (incl. i) major, ii) GPA, and iii) expected graduation date) to

mentor and to Prof. Andreas S. Bommarius (andreas.bommarius@chbe.gatech.edu).

Interviews with mentor: any time; feedback: less than 1 day later; decision asap after

agreement among student, mentor, and faculty advisor

We have a position available on the following projects:

1. Deep eutectic solvents for the pretreatment of cellulose

Cellulose is the most abundant biomaterial known and is considered a key target for replacement of fossil

fuels. Due to its partially crystalline nature, cellulose is not soluble in water or most organic liquids.

Eutectic mixtures of salts sometimes melt below room temperature. We will investigate the solubility and

structure (crystallinity) of cellulose in such liquids.

The student will learn to compose and identify a eutectic medium, measure and interpret

crystallinity of cellulose, and to employ cellulose and lignocellulosic materials. Key experiments will

involve testing renewable materials as components of the eutectic system, testing cellulose crystallinity

via X-ray diffractometry, and measuring hydrolysis to oligosaccharides. The work will require some

knowledge of physical chemistry.

Mentors: Yuzhi Kang (ykang41@gatech.edu) and Dr. Min Jeong Sohn (msohn8@mail.gatech.edu)

2. Kinetics of enzymatic cellulose hydrolysis

Lignocellulosics are of great significance as biofuel feedstock due to their abundance and low cost. The

purpose of this research is to evaluate the effects of steam explosion and the feasibility of utilizing steamexploded

agricultural residues as fuel feedstock. The research focuses on the hydrolyzability, reactivity,

and kinetic study of lignocellulosic biomass such as steam-exploded bagasse and wheat straw.

The student will learn techniques of protein purification and handling, of measuring and

interpreting adsorption and enzyme kinetic data, and of employing lignocellulosic materials. Key

experiments will involve measuring adsorption of cellulase on cellulose surfaces and exploring and

confirming enzymatic activity. The work will require knowledge of organic chemistry and kinetics.

Mentor: Yuzhi Kang (ykang41@gatech.edu)

3. Redesign of formate dehydrogenase via protein engineering

Formate dehydrogenase (FDH) catalyzes the oxidation of formate, an inexpensive reductant (“H2 +

CO2”), to CO2 under concomitant oxidation of a biological cofactor, NADH or NADPH. FDH is

extremely useful in complementing other dehydrogenases that catalyze the synthesis of active

pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).

We have started to design a totally novel FDH from scratch that incorporates all knowledge about

enhancing activity and stability accumulated over many years. We have found that our newly designed

protein shows activity but now need much further characterization work.

The student will learn protein expression and purification techniques along with assays to explore

and confirm enzymatic activity using state-of-the-art technologies in protein engineering such as Akta

explorer for protein purification, gas chromatography, circular dichroism, and mutational library

construction. The work will require knowledge of organic chemistry, biochemistry, and kinetics.

Mentors: Dr. Bettina Bommarius (bettina.bommarius@chbe.gatech.edu) and Samantha Au

(sau3@gatech.edu)

4. Prebiotic sugar synthesis: carbene-catalyzed formaldehyde condensation to dihydroxyacetone

Formaldehyde is a simple single carbon molecule and both an important building block for the

chemical industry as well as the most likely prebiotic precursor of sugars. The purpose of this research is

to test multiple carbene precursor catalysts for their ability to convert formaldehyde to the triose sugar

dihydroxyacetone. Dihydroxyacetone will then be used as a reagent for further bond-forming reactions.

The student’s research project will focus on optimizing conversion and selectivity using temperature

and concentration as the major variables studied. Some background in synthesis would be helpful.

Chemical purification techniques such as crystallization and extraction will be learned as well as

identification using HPLC-MS and NMR.

Mentor: Ryan Clairmont (ryan.clairmont@gatech.edu)