De Novo Synthesis of Biopaint Using Transformed Bacteria: Analysis of Spectral Intensity Trends and Comparison to Commercial Paint

Abstract

Background: Commercial paint pigments contain toxic heavy metals that harm humans and pollute the environment. To mitigate these harms, ecologically safe pigments are necessary. Objective: This experiment aims to create a biopaint de-novo using transformed Escherichia coli bacteria and compare it to commercial paint. Methods: Genetically engineered E . coli bacteria producing magenta pigment were grown in petri dishes. The pigment protein was extracted, filtered, and dehydrated into a crystalline powder. This was mixed with acrylic medium to make biopaint. The biopaint and commercial paint were applied on acrylic paper; red, green, blue, and total spectral intensities were measured daily under different testing conditions. Spectral intensity variability was measured and compared using the Coefficient of Variation (CV). Trends in spectral intensity were analyzed using regression analysis. Results: The differences in the CV of biopaint to commercial paint were less than 20% under all testing conditions. Spectral intensities for both biopaint and commercial paint did not show any significant change during the testing period under the conditions of room temperature, heat, and humidity. However, under the cold testing condition, biopaint showed a slight but statistically significant (p-value < 0.05) decline in total, red, and blue spectral intensities. Conclusion: This experiment proves that E. coli-derived pigments can be used to make biopaint which has a similar durability to commercial paint as measured by the spectral intensities.