1,3-Propanediol PDO Metabolic Engineering Service

1,3-Propanediol PDO is a key monomer used for Monomers/Polymers PTT Plastic production e.g. Sorona fibers, adhesives, cosmetics. Traditional chemical synthesis from acrolein is toxic and hazardous . Microbial production is a safer, greener alternative, but faces hurdles: microbial yield is low due to competing pathways e.g. ethanol and acetate synthesis, which drain carbon flux. Also, efficient utilization of cheap feedstocks is needed for economic viability.

CD Biosynsis offers a robust metabolic engineering strategy for high-yield PDO production: Metabolic Engineering: Knockout ethanol/acetate pathways in E. coli or S. cerevisiae . This eliminates major competing sinks and redirects carbon flux to PDO. We ensure cost-effectiveness through Introduce Glycerol Dehydratase DhaB for efficient conversion of crude glycerol cheap feedstock . Crude glycerol is a low-cost biodiesel byproduct. Finally, we optimize conversion efficiency by focusing on Cofactor Balance: Optimize NADH regeneration for PDO formation , which is a highly NADH-dependent reduction process.

Pain Points

The industrial bioproduction of PDO presents these main difficulties:

• Carbon Competition: The key intermediate in the PDO pathway 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde 3-HPA can be shunted to undesirable byproducts like ethanol, acetate, and lactate , significantly reducing the final PDO yield.
• Cofactor Imbalance: The final step of PDO synthesis requires a substantial amount of NADH . Maintaining sufficient NADH regeneration without generating other undesirable products is a major bottleneck.
• Feedstock Cost and Efficiency: While glycerol is cheap, strains must be engineered to efficiently handle crude glycerol impurities and to maximize the conversion of the substrate into the final product PDO.
• Product Toxicity: The intermediate 3-HPA is toxic to host cells at high concentrations, complicating high-titer continuous fermentation.

A cost-effective strategy must maximize the carbon flux to PDO and optimize the intracellular redox state.

Solutions

CD Biosynsis utilizes integrated pathway and host engineering to maximize PDO production:

Byproduct Pathway Knockout

           

We delete key genes e.g. adhE for ethanol, pta/ackA for acetate that are responsible for the formation of competitive byproducts, redirecting carbon flux toward PDO.

Efficient Glycerol Utilization

We introduce or optimize the expression of Glycerol Dehydratase DhaB and its reactivating factor to ensure highly efficient conversion of crude glycerol into the crucial 3-HPA intermediate.

Redox Cofactor Engineering

We employ strategies such as overexpressing specific NADH-dependent enzymes or introducing NADH-generating pathways to balance the NADH/NAD+ ratio , fueling the final reduction step to PDO.

Intermediate Detoxification

We modify cell membranes and use molecular chaperones to reduce the toxicity of the 3-HPA intermediate , enabling the cell to tolerate higher concentrations and achieve higher final titers. [Image of High Conversion Efficiency Icon]

This integrated strategy ensures maximum carbon flux and optimal redox balance for high-titer PDO production.

Advantages

Our PDO engineering service is dedicated to pursuing the following production goals:

High Final Product Yield Icon

Knockout of competitive pathways leads to a significantly increased theoretical and practical yield of PDO from glycerol.

Low-Cost Feedstock Utilization Icon

Efficient conversion of crude glycerol substantially reduces raw material cost compared to glucose or chemical synthesis. [Image of Cost Reduction Icon]

Balanced Redox State for High Flux Icon

Optimized NADH regeneration ensures the final enzymatic reduction step is not rate-limiting , boosting productivity.

Enhanced Strain Tolerance Icon

Detoxification strategies allow the host to tolerate high 3-HPA and PDO concentrations , enabling higher final titer.

Scalable Bioprocess Design Icon

The engineered microbial platform is readily scalable for industrial high-volume PDO production as a polymer precursor.

We deliver an economically optimized and high-performing microbial cell factory for PDO biosynthesis.

Process

Our PDO strain engineering service follows a rigorous, multi-stage research workflow:

• Metabolic Pathway Knockout: Perform targeted gene deletions e.g. adhE, pta/ackA using CRISPR-Cas9 to eliminate competing byproduct synthesis pathways.
• Pathway Integration and Optimization: Introduce the dhaB gene and a highly active PDO reductase for the PDO pathway and optimize their expression levels for maximum flux.
• Cofactor Engineering: Introduce or overexpress NAD-dependent enzymes e.g. glycerol dehydrogenase to ensure sufficient NADH regeneration for the final reduction step.
• Fermentation Process Development: Optimize fed-batch or continuous culture conditions e.g. glycerol feeding rate, pH, redox monitoring for maximal titer and yield.
• Product Titer and Yield Analysis: Quantify the final PDO titer and yield via HPLC or GC and validate the strain stability in industrial-relevant conditions.

Technical communication is maintained throughout the process, focusing on timely feedback regarding yield and product quality attributes.

Explore the potential for a high-yield, cost-effective PDO supply. CD Biosynsis provides customized strain and process engineering solutions:

• Detailed PDO Titer and Yield Reports g/L, percentage of theoretical yield from optimized fermentation runs.
• Consultation on crude glycerol pretreatment and media formulation strategies.
• Experimental reports include complete raw data on strain stability, byproduct formation, and intracellular NADH/NAD+ ratio measurements .