Dr. Weatherley’s Undergraduate Research Projects – Spring 2023

The following is a short list of possible projects for undergraduate research in Dr. Weatherley’s Lab in spring semester 2023. Eligible students are able to enroll for undergraduate research for credit under C&PE 651 or C&PE 661 (Honors). Students who may be interested in any of these projects, please feel free to contact Dr. Weatherley by email at lweather@ku.edu or call by his office 4152 Learned Hall.

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The Effect of Electrical Fields on Cell Viability

This project is concerned with building on previous research which studied the effect of high tension electrical fields upon bioactivity. Earlier work focussed on the viability of Saccharomyces cereviseae suspended in electrically charged drops in a liquid system and negligible effect was observed. However the effective exposure times were very short, typically of  the order of a few seconds. We now wish to extend the range of this work and examine the effect of much longer exposure times on cell viability and performance. The environment in which the exposure is conducted will include aqueous cell suspension and as dried biomass in air.

Fatty Acid Separation by Ion Exchange

This project is concerned with improving the performance of the enzymatic hydrolysis of oils and fats by continuous removal of the free fatty acid products of the hydrolysis reaction. The use of cationic and anionic ion-exchange resins to remove the fatty acid products during continuous production will be evaluated. Of particular interest is the performance of the exchangers in the presence of aqueous-oil emulsions which contain significant amounts of proteins and reaction by-products. Tasks include: identify possible ion exchange resins; select fatty acids; check analytical methods; conduct uptake experiments, fit data.

Novel Solutes for Enzyme and Protein Stabilization

The proposed project is concerned with stabilization of proteins and enzymes using a group of reagents known as compensatory or counteracting solutes. They perform the important function of enhancing live cell viability and enzymatic activity. Organisms that are subjected to environmental stresses such as heat, dehydration or extreme solution conditions such as high salt or urea, maintain biological activity due to the presence of the compounds even in the face of severe denaturing stresses. The compounds of interest, which are found naturally, include glycine betaine and trehalose. The main aim of the project is to determine the effectiveness of the solutes in protecting enzyme activity during thermal cycling and changes in the chemical environment.

Enzymatic Catalysis for Conversion of Corn Oil

 The proposed research is concerned with the enzymatic conversion of corn oil into the free fatty acids and glycerol. Of particular interest is the fate of high value trace compounds in the corn oil such as tocopherols, phytosterols, and tocotrienols. Also consider phenolic acids, sitosterol, campesterol, stigmasterol and lecithin. Lecithin is usual­ly extracted through multi-stage solvent extraction. Phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phos­phatidylinositol and phosphatidylserine are also significant phospholipids associated with maize germ. Vanillin, carotenoids and ferulic acid are other potential byproducts. Lipases will be screened for reaction selectivity together with polymeric supports for the immobilization of the lipase. In particular the application of novel methacrylate supports which have shown significant promise as biocatalysts will be examined. The enhancement of enzyme performance using cross-linking procedures may also be investigated.

A Small Electrically Enhanced Packed Bed Reactor for Enzymatic Splitting of Corn Oil

 The proposed research is concerned with the enzymatic conversion of corn oil into the free fatty acids and glycerol using a bench scale packed bed reactor. The packing will comprise polymeric beads onto which a microbial lipase is pre-loaded. An emulsified mixture of corn oil and water will be pumped through the bed and sampled at the exit from the bed. The samples will be mixed with ethanol and titrated against standardized sodium hydroxide solution to determine total free fatty acid content. The reactor will be fitted with two electrodes, one each end of the bed, which will be connected to a variable DC power source. This will allow the application of an electrical voltage across the packed bed in the range 0 – 100Volts in the positive direction and in the negative direction. The effect of voltage magnitude and direction on the yield of free fatty acid can thus be determined.

Development of an Accurate Sampling Technique in a Quiescent Liquid-Liquid Reactor

The accurate spatial sampling of quiescent liquids during mass transfer and reaction is very challenging due to disturbances which occur if in-situ methods are adopted. To study mass transfer and reaction in a liquid-liquid system we have developed a static cell in which two immiscible liquids may be introduced, forming a plane interface between the two. As reaction  and/or extraction occurs, concentration gradients form in each of the liquid phases due to diffusional resistances. The aim of the project is to design and test a sampling system which would enable removal of small samples of each phase at different axial positions while minimizing hydrodynamic disturbances.