Natural Dyes

Indigoidine

The demand for natural dyes to replace synthetic analogs has been increasing as society and industry show growing interest in the development of sustainable processes. Indigoidine is a blue pigment produced by certain bacterial genera and holds great potential to replace indigo—currently produced mainly through polluting chemical processes—for use as a dye in the textile industry. In addition, due to its redox and antimicrobial properties, it also shows potential for applications in other sectors. Therefore, the development of microbial strains capable of efficiently producing this compound is highly desirable to enable its large-scale production.

In our laboratory, we are introducing the genes required for indigoidine biosynthesis into Escherichia coli cells. Subsequently, additional genetic modifications, guided by in silico analyses, will be implemented to enhance pigment production and promote its excretion, thereby facilitating its purification.