Announcement! Guest Lecture in December

Nature has hardly evolved biochemical reactions involving fluorine (F), the most abundant halogen on Earth. Organic compounds containing F (fluorochemicals) are, however, extremely relevant from an industrial point of view. Fluoropolymers are the main fluorochemicals in the market worldwide, and, as of today, they are exclusively synthesized using chemical methods. Current fluorination technologies typically involve corrosive and toxic reagents that have a negative impact on the environment. Designing sustainable bioprocesses based on alternative and safer fluorinating agents from renewable substrates is thus a long-sought-after, yet unfulfilled goal. SinFonia proposes to engineer the metabolically-versatile bacterium Pseudomonas putida to generate novel fluoropolymers from simple substrates. The target compounds are a whole family of fluorinated polyesters with emerging physicochemical and material properties. In this talk, the core strategy of SinFonia towards establishing in vivo biofluorination in bacterial cell factories will be discussed as an enabling technology towards the bioproduction of fluorochemicals, including fluoropolymers.