Applying Biofilm Engineering Approaches to Industrial and Biotechnological Challenges
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has published its report on engineering biology, entitled, ‘Don’t fail to scale: seizing the opportunity of engineering biology’. The report is calling on the government to take far greater risks to boost UK scientific innovation and commercialisation. Read a news summary of the report here.
The National Biofilms Innovation Centre (NBIC) provided written evidence to support the Science and Technology Committee with their Engineering Biology Inquiry. The inquiry explored engineering biology’s potential, particularly in delivering UK economic growth through commercialisation, and for improvements to public services; which areas of engineering biology the UK is well placed to exploit and where additional support may be needed; and the ethical, regulatory and safety implications of rapid developments in the field.
NBIC is pleased to see that the report incorporates many of its key ideas, including the increased emphasis on skills training, enhanced mobility between academia and industry, the importance of science expertise in the civil service, and the recognition of the necessity for advancements in regulatory frameworks, alongside initiatives for greater public engagement and information dissemination.
The research at NBIC is organised into four interventional themes: Prevent, Detect, Manage and Engineer. The Engineer theme aligns directly with Engineering Biology and seeks to apply biofilm engineering approaches to industrial and biotechnological challenges. The theme aims to Engineer wholly new biofilm communities that exert beneficial functions, through a combination of rational design and physical control.
Economic Impact
Microbial biofilms pose significant challenges and opportunities in various sectors, impacting health, food safety, industrial processes, and the economy globally. Biofilms exert a significant economic impact globally estimated at US$5 trillion annually (1), affecting sectors like consumer products (US$91 billion), foods (US$91 billion), and water and wastewater treatment (US$117 billion). Effectively controlling and engineering environmental and industrial biofilms is crucial for addressing these challenges. Rational biofilm engineering through Engineering Biology approaches offers the opportunity to mitigate the industrial impacts of deleterious biofilms, while also opening new markets for beneficial biofilm communities (2) across multiple sectors.
International Regulation
NBIC has very recently formed the Biofilm Alliance, a collaborative network which brings together academia and industry experts, regulatory bodies, and standardisation agencies to further our understanding of UK-specific barriers and benefits related to biofilm innovation and regulatory decision-making, and to determine which industry sectors stand to gain the most and experience the fastest benefits from advancements in regulatory science related to biofilm engineering and control. Outdated guidelines, limited dialogue between academic researchers, industry and regulators, and the absence of standardised methodologies create the pressing need for a systematic approach. The network aims to evaluate existing methodologies, recommend models, and establish a structured framework for interpreting biofilm data, ultimately creating a collection of recommended regulatory tools (3).
Investment Into Public Engagement
The scale of the challenges e.g., in food and water security and climate change mitigation require rapid deployment of new bio-based technologies. Public dialogue is critical before Engineering Biology approaches can be introduced on a national scale. Public acceptability, a lack of trust and an increase in misinformation are all barriers to deployment. Embedding of publicly visible and transparent responsible innovation practices in academia and industry is required, as is additional investment into public engagement/dialogue and outreach activities across disparate communities and demographic groups. Increased collaboration between academia, industry, the charity sector and “trusted players” in the environmental space is essential.
At the coalface of Engineering Biology research, enhanced training through industry-led PhD studentships, such as NBIC’s BITE programme and Flexible Talent Mobility Accounts offer opportunities for researchers to transfer typically between academia and industry. Such opportunities could be expanded to enhance interdisciplinarity and transfer to and from the government and the third sector.
If you want to work with us or learn more about our policy engagement and activities, please contact Ines Foidl, our Policy Engagement Officer.
References
1: Economic significance of biofilms: a multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral challenge npj Biofilms Microbiomes 8, 42 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41522-022-00306-y
2: Creating pathways for collaboration between Argentina and the UK to utilise microbial biofilms in sustainable agriculture. CABI Agric Biosci 5, 23 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43170-024-00227-0
3: The need for Funding in Biofilm Standardisation. https://biofilms.ac.uk/funding-in-biofilm-standardisation