AUTHOR=Peremezhney Nicolai , Jacob Philipp-Maximilian , Lapkin Alexei TITLE=Alternative methods of processing bio-feedstocks in formulated consumer product design JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry VOLUME=2 YEAR=2014 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2014.00026 DOI=10.3389/fchem.2014.00026 ISSN=2296-2646 ABSTRACT=

In this work new methods of processing bio-feedstocks in the formulated consumer products industry are discussed. Our current approach to formulated products design is based on heuristic knowledge of formulators that allows selecting individual compounds from a library of available materials with known properties. We speculate that most of the compounds (or functions) that make up the product to be designed can potentially be obtained from a few bio-sources. In this case, it may be possible to design a sequence of transformations required to convert feedstocks into products with desired properties, analogous to a metabolic pathway of a complex organism. We conceptualize some novel approaches to processing bio-feedstocks with the aim of bypassing the step of a fixed library of ingredients. Two approaches are brought forward: one making use of knowledge-based expert systems and the other making use of applications of metabolic engineering and dynamic combinatorial chemistry.