Immobilization of cells with surface-displayed chitin-binding domain

To explore chitin-binding domain (ChBD)-based cell immobilization, a tripartite gene fusion consisting of an in-frame fusion of ChBD to lpp and ompA was constructed and expressed in Escherichia coli. ChBD-displayed cells exhibited highly specific and stable binding to chitin within a wide range of pHs (5 to 8) and temperatures (15 to 37 degrees C). These results illustrate the promising use of this approach for engineering applications.