— HTBAA Fall 2026 :: nandita-narayanan

Week 1 HW: Final Project Ideas

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

(1) What you would like to biomanufacture and why? I want to engineer a microbial chassis for low molecular weight hyaluronic acid production. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a glycosaminoglycan distinguished by its high water loading capacity - it can hold up to 1000 times its own weight in water. It is found naturally across vertebrate species where it plays a vital role in hydration, healing, fluid balance, and structural cushioning. Its behaviour is largely a function of its molecular weight with high MWs having more structural and lubricating roles while low MWs have greater permeability and participate in cellular signalling, wound healing, and molecular transport. Its widespread presence in the body gives it diverse biomedical applications. Low MW-HA (<300 kDa) is used often in dermatology as well as cosmetics for its hydration and anti-aging effects. It is also being explored for engineering nanoparticles, liposomes, and micelles for drug delivery with 200 kDa HA having high affinity to the CD44 receptor on cancer cells (Yasin et al., 2022) (Fakhari & Berkland, 2013). As of 2025, hyaluronic acid has a global market value of USD 11.5 billion with dermal fillers and cosmetic applications holding a bulk of the market share (Grand View Research, 2026). This marks the importance of developing a sustainable and safe mechanism for efficient hyaluronic acid production.

Week 2 HW

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Part 1: Define your expression target What molecule are you expressing? I want to express the enzyme urate oxidase to aid in the breakdown of uric acid, the end metabolite of purine metabolism. What is the sequence? The protein sequence for uricase will be taken from Vibrio vulnificus and can be found from NCBI accession number: TDL85923.1 MTIQNENRTMFYGKGDVFVYRTFVQPLTGLRKIPESSFTERDNTIFGFNCQISLKGEAFFSSFTEGDNSL VVATDSMKNIIHRQAANYQGNTAEGFLKFICEVFLDKYSHIDAVELTATEVPFDHVLVPKGEGHENSDVV YRCSRNERATTTIEVKRTPTGSKIVKHSSGIVDVHLIKVKGSSFYGFIQDEYTTLPEAQDRPLFIYLDFD WEYSRWEDGTGANPEKYVAAEQICDIANTVFHELNNRSIQQLIYHIGIRILERFPQLANVQFKTNNRTWE TVVETIPNSEGSVYQEPRPPFGFQGFVVTQEDVKQKKAADSTVGASR What host or chassis? I want to use a probiotic organism to act as a transient gut microbe to help relieve hyperuricemia. For this, I would use Saccharomyces boulardii that already has applications as a biotherapeutic probiotic and is typically cleared from the gut within 2-5 days post-supplementation.

Week 3 HW

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

3. ASSIGNMENT: CFPS REACTION DESIGN FOR SFGFP, PETASE, RETEPLASE Goal: using the collective intelligence of the HTBAA community and accessible AI systems, design novel CFPS reaction compositions for each of the three target proteins: sfGFP, PETase, and Reteplase to reduce the cost per gram of functional protein. Each design should be compatible with the experimental framework described above and should reflect the distinct expression and folding requirements of that protein. You can learn more about the details of the coopetition here.

Final Project

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000