Issue 17, 2010
From the journal:

Soft Matter

Synthesis, properties and uses of bacterial storagelipid granules as naturally occurring nanoparticles

Nicholas Thomson,a   David Summersb  and  Easan Sivaniah*a  

* Corresponding authors

a Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
E-mail: es10009@cam.ac.uk
Fax: +44 (0)1223 337000
Tel: +44 (0)1223 337267

b Genetics Department, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
E-mail: dks11@hermes.cam.ac.uk
Fax: +44 (0)1223 333992
Tel: +44 (0)1223 333991

Abstract

Bacterial storage lipids including poly(hydroxyalkanoates), triacylglycerols and wax esters are biodegradable materials with applications in food production, household goods, cosmetics, packaging and medicine. They are produced as a carbon and energy store by a wide range of species, and are accumulated in cytoplasmic granules. Various proteins are known to associate with these granules, thereby presenting the opportunity to functionalise their surfaces and to create biotechnologically applicable biobeads with the potential to replace existing colloidal systems for protein purification, drug delivery and enzyme immobilisation. This review summarises the production of such structures, and considers the methods available to adjust the physical properties of the granules to make them suitable for novel applications.

Graphical abstract: Synthesis, properties and uses of bacterial storage lipid granules as naturally occurring nanoparticles

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/B927559B
Article type
Review Article
Submitted
13 Jan 2010
Accepted
06 Apr 2010
First published
05 May 2010

Soft Matter, 2010,6, 4045-4057

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Synthesis, properties and uses of bacterial storage lipid granules as naturally occurring nanoparticles

N. Thomson, D. Summers and E. Sivaniah, Soft Matter, 2010, 6, 4045 DOI: 10.1039/B927559B

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