Development of Plastic-Binding Proteins for Future Plastics Research
PhD defense, Thursday 29th October 2026, Nanna Miang Lyngsø
During her PhD studies, Nanna Miang Lyngsø has focused on developing small proteins that can selectively bind to plastic surfaces rather than other materials. These small proteins, known as peptides, were developed using a screening method called phage display, in which billions of different peptide variants were mixed with plastic particles. Afterwards, the peptides that remained attached to the plastic were identified. As a first step, the project focused on a single type of plastic, polyurethane, and successfully developed a peptide that binds particularly selectively to the plastic surface.
In the future, this peptide may be used to anchor plastic-degrading enzymes to plastic surfaces, thereby improving enzymatic plastic recycling. In addition, the peptide may serve as a tool for investigating the occurrence of nanoplastic.
The PhD study was completed at Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Faculty of Natural Sciences, Aarhus University.
This summary was prepared by the PhD student.
Time: Thursday, 29th October 2026 at 13:00
Place: Building 1593, room 012, iNANO Auditorium, Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 14, 8000 Aarhus
Title of PhD thesis: Fishing for Anchor Peptides: Optimizing Phage Display for Discovery of Plastic-Binding Peptides
Contact information: Nanna Miang Lyngsø, e-mail: nmlyngsoe@inano.au.dk, tel.: +45 27126430
Members of the assessment committee:
Priv.Doz. Mag. Dr. Doris Ribitsch, Institute for Environmental Biotechnology, BOKU University, Austria
Professor Reinhard Wimmer, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Denmark
Associate Professor Victoria Birkedal (chair), Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO) and Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Denmark
Main supervisor: Professor Daniel Erik Otzen, Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO) and Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmark
Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English
The defense is public.
The PhD thesis is available for reading at the Graduate School of Natural Sciences/GSNS, Ny Munkegade 120, building 1521, 8000 Aarhus C