Optimizing the strain engineering process for industrial-scale production of bio-based molecules.

Biomanufacturing could contribute as much as ${\$}$30 trillion to the global economy by 2030. However, the success of the growing bioeconomy depends on our ability to manufacture high-performing strains in a time- and cost-effective manner. The Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) framework has proven to be an effective strain engineering approach.

Population Bottlenecks Strongly Affect the Evolutionary Dynamics of Antibiotic Persistence.

Bacterial persistence is a potential cause of antibiotic therapy failure. Antibiotic-tolerant persisters originate from phenotypic differentiation within a susceptible population, occurring with a frequency that can be altered by mutations. Recent studies have proven that persistence is a highly evolvable trait and, consequently, an important evolutionary strategy of bacterial populations to adapt to high-dose antibiotic therapy.

A NON-LINEAR STRUCTURE-PROPERTY MODEL FOR OCTANOL-WATER PARTITION COEFFICIENT.

Octanol-water partition coefficient (K(ow)) is an important thermodynamic property used to characterize the partitioning of solutes between an aqueous and organic phase and has importance in such areas as pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, chemical production and environmental toxicology. We present a non-linear quantitative structure-property relationship model for determining K(ow) values of new molecules in silico. A total of 823 descriptors were generated for 11,308 molecules whose K(ow) values are reported in the PhysProp dataset by Syracuse Research.

Design of improved permeation enhancers for transdermal drug delivery.

One promising way to breach the skin's natural barrier to drugs is by the application of chemicals called penetration enhancers. However, identifying potential enhancers is difficult and time consuming. We have developed a virtual screening algorithm for generating potential chemical penetration enhancers (CPEs) by integrating nonlinear, theory-based quantitative structure-property relationship models, genetic algorithms, and neural networks.

Screening of chemical penetration enhancers for transdermal drug delivery using electrical resistance of skin.

Purpose: A novel technique is presented for identifying potential chemical penetration enhancers (CPEs) based on changes in the electrical resistance of skin.

Methods: Specifically, a multi-well resistance chamber was designed and constructed to facilitate more rapid determination of the effect of CPEs on skin resistance. The experimental setup was validated using nicotine and decanol on porcine skin in vitro.