Michigan State University is now home to one of the nation’s newest Energy Frontier Research Centers. Led by Cheryl Kerfeld, a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory is focused on building ‘nanofactories’ inspired by natural processes found in bacterial microcompartments. These bacterial compartments house specific biochemical functions in an insulated environment. In that compartment, bacteria can accumulate reactants used by catalysts, causing biochemical reactions to be efficient.
The Center, dubbed the Center for Catalysis in Biomimetic Confinement (CCBC), is one of 43 research centers announced by the Department of Energy and has received $10.65 million in support from the US Department of Energy. The CCBC’s focus will be to explore how nature compartmentalizes some of its most critical biochemical reactions. Researchers at the CCBC hope to understand how bacteria build these chambers and learn to mimic the bacteria’s methods to develop new and more efficient ways to produce essential chemicals and molecules for sustainable fuels, fertilizers, and other products.
To learn more about bacterial microcompartments, the CCBC, and the research conducted here at MSU, click here.
About the MSU Innovation Center:
The MSU Innovation Center is dedicated to fostering innovation, research commercialization, and entrepreneurial activities from the research and discovery happening across our campus every day. We act as the primary interface for researchers aiming to see their research applied to solving real-world problems and making the world a better place to live. We aim to empower faculty, researchers, and students within our community of scholars by providing them with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to bring their discoveries to the forefront. Through strategic collaborations with the private sector, we aim to amplify the impact of faculty research and drive economic growth while positively impacting society. We foster mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with the private sector through corporate-sponsored research collaborations, technology licensing discussions, and support for faculty entrepreneurs to support the establishment of startup companies.
Is your company interested in working with MSU’s Plant Researchers? Click Here.