Generating a Synthetic Biology Toolbox for Nitroorganics
Abstract
Nitroorganic compounds are widely used as energetic materials in propellants and explosives. They are currently produced through chemical synthesis. The nitroorganic explosives and propellants (energetic compounds) utilized in modern conventional munitions are currently synthesized in chemical processes using primarily petroleum-derived feedstocks for the carbon skeleton. Biotechnological routes to the energetic compounds and/or their precursors would utilize plant biomass-derived sugars and simple nitrogen compounds without the use of strong acids, large amounts of organic solvents, or heavy metal catalysts. To decrease environmental impact, we proposed the biosynthetic route to synthesize nitroorganics. Biosynthetic pathways would have a less environmental impact and liberate the production of these energetic materials from the need for any foreign-sourced materials or catalysts. To biosynthesize nitroorganics, the genes encoding the enzymes that comprise the pathways to various types of nitroorganic compounds must first be identified and then recombined by synthetic biology techniques to obtain new biosynthetic routes to nitroorganic compounds of interest. Our principal aim in this project is to populate the synthetic biology toolbox with well characterized genes for the biosynthesis of nitroorganic compounds.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 30, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1217148
Entities
People
- Bo Yuan
- Clay Wang
- Jon Magnuson
- Shuang Deng
- Yi-ming Chiang
Organizations
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory