Transcript Recombinant DNA technology allows us to use bacteria as factories

Title Slide:
e.g.
Molecular Biomimetics and Genetically Engineered Polypeptides for
Inorganics (GEPIs)
Developed by ….
Date ….
Brief summary
Biomimetics & GEPIs - version 9/4/08 - Developed by Adam Waltzer - Copyright 2008, Univeristy of Washington
What’s the relationship between these two images?
photography.qj.net
www.extra.rdg.ac.uk/eng/BIONIS/images/burr.jpg
Biomimetics & GEPIs - version 9/4/08 - Developed by Adam Waltzer - Copyright 2008, Univeristy of
Washington
What’s the relationship between these two images?
photography.qj.net
www.extra.rdg.ac.uk/eng/BIONIS/images/burr.jpg
Velcro and the plant burr that inspired its invention
Biomimetics & GEPIs - version
9/4/08 - Developed by Adam
Biomimetics - term coined by
Otto H. Schmitt in 1969 to
describe the idea of imitating
and learning from biology.
Biomimetics & GEPIs - version
9/4/08 - Developed by Adam
What do these have in common?
visualparadox.com
www.chrisdixonstudios.com
haymarketart.com
Biomimetics & GEPIs - version
i153.photobucket.com/.../s232/impsire/nacre.jpg
www.shanewilson.com
9/4/08 - Developed by Adam
Yes! You’re right.
They are elegently functional
natural materials comprised largely
of inorganic compounds that have
been developed by living systems
over 3.5 billion years of evolution.
And their properties depend on
their molecular structure.
Biomimetics & GEPIs - version
9/4/08 - Developed by Adam
Include slide with photos and labels – what specifically are these
materials? E.g. sea shell, human bones, sharks’ teeth, ….
Biomimetics & GEPIs - version
9/4/08 - Developed by Adam
What can we learn from learning
about these materials?
visualparadox.com
www.chrisdixonstudios.com
haymarketart.com
Biomimetics & GEPIs - version
i153.photobucket.com/.../s232/impsire/nacre.jpg
www.shanewilson.com
9/4/08 - Developed by Adam
Molecular Biomimetics – imitating and
learning from nature, based on our
understanding of molecular biology.
Biomimetics & GEPIs - version
9/4/08 - Developed by Adam
Molecular Biomimetics – imitating and
learning from nature, based on our
understanding of molecular biology.
How can we build materials, like biological
systems do, at the molecular level?
Biomimetics & GEPIs - version
9/4/08 - Developed by Adam
Molecular Biomimetics – imitating and
learning from nature, based on our
understanding of molecular biology.
How can we build materials, like biological
systems do, at the molecular level?
Molecular self-assembly refers to a system
in which molecules organize themselves
according to their properties.
Biomimetics & GEPIs - version
9/4/08 - Developed by Adam
Peptides, with their specific shapes
and binding properties, are ideal
tools for nanotechnology.
[Bridge/fill in the conceptual gap
here; explicitly link molecular
biomimetics to peptides]
Biomimetics & GEPIs - version
9/4/08 - Developed by Adam
Peptides, with their specific shapes
and binding properties are ideal
tools for nanotechnology.
Bacteria can be used as factories
for designing specific polypeptides
by insertig the recipe (gene) for
these polypeptides into the
bacterial genome.
Biomimetics & GEPIs - version
9/4/08 - Developed by Adam
“GEPIs”
• Genetically Engineered Polypeptides
for Inorganics
• Typically short (8-12 amino acids)
• Have been produced to selectively
bind to gold, titanium, silica, enamel
and other inorganic materials.
Biomimetics & GEPIs - version
9/4/08 - Developed by Adam
“Biopanning”
• A process for selecting GEPI’s with
specific affinity for a given material.
• Homework:
Compare and contrast “biopanning” with the
production of antibodies by human B-cells
that you read about in the article, “Fighting
Colds with Natural Selection.” (from Evolution:
The Triumph of an Idea, Zimmer) [Provide
complete citation]
Biomimetics & GEPIs - version
9/4/08 - Developed by Adam
So, one end of the GEPI binds to a specific
material and the other can be seen as a
LEGO block to which we can attach any
number of other molecules or materials.
Hmmm.
[An illustration or schematic would help here
–or maybe back on the slide where you
define GEPIs]
Biomimetics & GEPIs - version
9/4/08 - Developed by Adam
So, one end of the GEPI binds to a specific
material and the other can be seen as a
LEGO block to which we can attach any
number of other molecules or materials.
Hmmm.
First alone, and then with a partner,
brainstorm some potential uses of molecules
that serve as interfaces between organic
and inorganic materials. [As this is another
assignment, like the homework above, label
and bullet as you
did for that.]
Biomimetics & GEPIs - version
9/4/08 - Developed by Adam
Add concluding slide, summarizing main points
Biomimetics & GEPIs - version 9/4/08 Developed by Adam Waltzer - Copyright
2008, Univeristy of Washington