Skip to ContentSkip to Navigation
Research Stratingh

NWO XS Grant for Clemens Mayer

18 December 2023
Clemens Mayer
Clemens Mayer

Clemens Mayer has been awarded an NWO XS grant for his project “Nothing lasts forever - fighting PFAS pollution with engineered enzymes”

XS grants (maximum of € 50,000) are intended to support promising ideas and to facilitate innovative and more speculative ground-breaking and high-risk projects. What counts is that all results, be they positive or negative, must contribute to the advancement of science.

Poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) encompass thousands of individual compounds that are widely used in consumer products. However, the presence of strong carbon-fluoride bonds makes PFAS difficult to degrade and long-term exposure to these forever chemicals has been shown to severely impact human health. In this project, Mayer and his team will apply the laboratory evolution to engineer biological catalysts (=enzymes) that can effectively degrade PFAS. By pioneering a strategy that converts model PFAS into carbon and energy sources for bacteria, this work will provide a promising means for the on-demand bio-remediation of these forever chemicals.

Last modified:18 December 2023 1.30 p.m.
Share this Facebook LinkedIn

More news