PRODUCT UPDATE

摘要

DEPARTMENT of Energy's Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) has developed a new eco-friendly production platform for producing blue pigment which may provide a sustainable alternative to synthetic indigo, a dye used to colour denim and many other items. This opens the door for next-generation bioproduction of dyes replacing environmentally unfriendly process. The team was investigating microbe-based biomanufacturing when it came across the eco-friendly production platform for a blue pigment called indigoidine. With a similar vividly saturated hue as synthetic indigo, a dye used around the world to color denim and many other items, the team's fungi-produced indigoidine could provide an alternative to a largely environmentally unfriendly process. "Originally extracted from plants, most indigo used today is synthesised," said lead researcher Aindrila Mukhopadhyay, who directs the Host Engineering team at JBEI. "These processes are efficient and inexpensive, but they often require toxic chemicals and generate a lot of dangerous waste. With our work we now have a way to efficiently produce a blue pigment that uses inexpensive, sustainable carbon sources instead of harsh precursors. And so far, the platform checks many of the boxes in its promise to be scaled-up for commercial markets."