BL1-1 AMYLSyn

Tulipalin A is a secondary defense metabolite in plants of the Liliaceae and Alstroemeriaceae families. It is liquid, smells only slightly and pleasantly of tulip and is an excellent starting monomer for the synthesis of bio-based polymers. It has clear advantages over classic fossil acrylate and methacrylate monomers: The vapour pressure is lower, the monomer is less flammable and the technically extremely important radical polymerization can take place very quickly with unusually low volume shrinkage. The already broad application profile is complemented by high thermal stability and good optical properties, which should allow high added value and innovative product formulations for previously unsolved technical challenges.

Tulipalin A therefore offers much more than the desirable substitution of fossil acrylate and methacrylate monomers from an environmental, health and safety point of view, but can also be regarded as a key biotechnological compound for achieving innovative product families in the field of SD printing, for high-temperature applications and/or optics..

This project aims to lay the foundations for the biotechnological synthesis of tulipalin A. The Institute of Applied Microbiology at RWTH Aachen University, iAMB, will initially focus on the synthesis of isoprenol and isoprenyl acetate, which have been identified as important metabolic intermediates in preliminary scientific work.

The aim is to achieve a high intracellular metabolic flux in a robust host system, for example baker's yeast. In parallel, the industrial partner HENKEL will carry out important polymerization trials and application tests with classically-chemically produced alpha-methylene lactones in order to replace classic product formulations and to test their properties.