Development of a high throughput assay for cellulases
Prof. Hermann Gaub, Department of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (LMU)
Project:
The current bottle-neck in the production of second generation biofuel from wood and waste is the efficient break up of ligno-cellulose under environmentally sound conditions. In a new project, funded by an ERC Advanced Grant we will employ Single Molecule Cut & Paste technology1 to assemble designer cellulosomes from individual cellulases. This project is part of a collaboration with Ed Bayer2, Weizmann Institute and Steve Quake3, Stanford. In close interaction with a chemistry postdoc, this graduate student will develop a novel assay for the quantification of cellulolytic activity at the single molecule level.
Required Skills:
A profound chemistry/physical chemistry education is required. Know-how in single molecule fluorescence and/or scanning probe microscopy are beneficial.
Literature:
1. Kufer, S.K., E.M. Puchner, H. Gumpp, T. Liedl, and H.E. Gaub, Science, 2008. 319: p. 594-596.2.
2. Himmel, M.E. and E.A. Bayer, Curr Opin Biotechnol, 2009. 20: p. 316-7.3.
3. Gerber, D., S.J. Maerkl, and S.R. Quake, Nat Methods, 2009. 6: p. 71-4.
More information on our research and the multidisciplinary team: 
Prof. Gaub's website