The Digest’s 2024 Multi-Slide Guide to biomanufacturing using artificial protocells

This presentation deck outlines a revolutionary approach to biomanufacturing using artificial protocells, presented by Advait Holkar and Samanvaya Srivastava. The presentation deck highlights the limitations of traditional whole-cell and cell-free manufacturing methods, emphasizing their inefficiency, complexity, and process restrictions. The key innovation lies in the development of artificial protocells, which mimic the functionality of cellular organelles but operate outside the cell. These protocells offer a “best of both worlds” solution by combining the efficiency of cell-free systems with the robustness and versatility of whole-cell systems. The presentation deck further explains the advantages of protocell-based manufacturing, including enhanced reaction rates, increased stability, and reduced toxicity. The ultimate goal is to utilize protocells to efficiently produce valuable chemicals like higher alcohols, which can be used as biofuels and in various industrial applications. The presentation deck concludes with a roadmap outlining the project’s future development stages, starting with lab-scale testing and progressing towards pilot production by 2027.