Emmanuel Mintah ’21
Chemical and Biological Engineering
Diffusiophoresis in 1-D Pore Geometry*
My internship focused on engineering the metabolism of yeast cells to produce plant-derived chemicals necessary for pharmaceuticals. The manufacturing of plant-derived natural products is essential for a wide class of medicinal drugs, but current methods are not environmentally sustainable. Manufacturing these plant-derived natural products in yeast cells is a sustainable way to create drugs. The goal of my project was to transform yeast cells that produce 8-hydroxygeraniol, a chemical precursor to many plant-derived pharmaceuticals. I designed genes that would allow for the production of the P450 enzyme 8-hydroxylase and its reaction partners in yeast cells. Then I transformed these genes into yeast containing metabolic clustering systems that would allow the P450 enzymes to complete the oxidation reaction necessary to produce 8-hydroxygeraniol. Through this internship, I gained valuable lab experience that led me to decide that I want to pursue a graduate degree in chemical and biological engineering.
* This internship is connected to the PEI Water and the Environment Grand Challenges project,“Diffusiophoresis of Control of Particles in Water Systems.”
2019
Water and Health
Complex Fluids Group, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University - Princeton, New Jersey
Howard Stone, Donald R. Dixon ’69 and Elizabeth W. Dixon Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Ankur Gupta, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Suin Shim, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering