We are a lab within the Biopolymer and Biomaterials research group at the Department of Biotechnology and Food Science.  Our main research interest is the study of the structures and mechanisms of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes). In particular, protein dynamics and interactions between proteins and carbohydrates. 

Current activities

Protein-(bio)polymer interactions

Persons involved: Susanne Hansen Troøyen, Karine H. Teller, Ingrid M. Bolstad

• Characterization of enzymatic reactions on insoluble substrates (cellulose, chitin, PET).
• Time course analysis by NMR.
• Methodology for measuring kinetics and affinity of protein binding to insoluble substrates.
• Chemical modification of carbohydrates.

Xanthan glycosyltransferases

Project: PolyMod - Novo Nordisk Foundation

Persons involved: Davide Luciano, Tova Alenfalk

• Molecular dynamics simulations of xanthan GTs.
• Computational modelling of substrate-enzyme interactions.
• Designing and engineering substrate specificities.
• Characterizing physical properties of xanthan variants.

Master projects

Contact us if you are interested in doing your master's in our group. Available projects are listed below, but also feel free to suggest your own project.

• Biomaterial Breakthroughs: Streamlined polysaccharide engineering without cells
• Plastic-degrading enzymes
• Extracellular ATP: The secret language of plants?
• Exploring Substrate Binding Conformations in Xanthan Gum Glycosyltransferases: A Computational Comparative Study
• Computational Investigation of the Interaction between a Membrane-Anchored Oligosaccharide and an Integral Protein Domain
• Exploring the synergistic activity of cellulose- and plastic-degrading enzymes on composite cellulose/PET materials