Considering future success of our experimental protocol three distinct areas of focus for future research should follow: increasing production, creating prototypes, and testing practical applications.
Increasing the yield of linalool is a top priority in order to produce enough of it for consumer use. Targeted metabolic engineering, such as overexpressing the mevalonate pathway enzymes and deleting competing pathways, or CRISPR multiplex editing, which applies multiple genetic modifications simultaneously, can accomplish this. Stress-induced yeast adaptation may also result in variations that are more resilient to elevated terpene levels, boosting stability and productivity. In addition to strain engineering, scaling into bioreactors with regulated pH and oxygen will enable higher, more reliable production, advancing the process toward industrial viability.
Future teams should start creating real diffuser prototypes at the same time. One approach is to create a closed-cartridge system in which linalool is continuously produced in situ by yeast, resulting in a live and renewable source of the alcohols. Linalool could also be extracted and purified into stable oils that could be vaporized with heat or ultrasonic waves. Wearable micro-diffusers that offer individual stress relief throughout the day, like pendants or pins, are an example of more creative approaches. It will be possible to determine which design best strikes a balance between usability, safety, and practicality by testing these various systems.
Just as important, we see a need to demonstrate the human well-being benefits of our diffuser. Partnerships with psychologists or medical researchers could allow stress trials that measure heart rate or cortisol biomarkers before and after exposure to linalool. It would also be possible to use user studies to assess optimum concentrations and release rates and preferred product form presentations. Safety tests to verify that yeast-derived linalool is as pure and benign as the plant-produced varieties are necessary in order to trust that we can begin deploying these scents out in the open world.
Last but not least, different scenarios in which our platform may apply should also be investigated in future endeavors. Not only are linalool and nerolidol stress-reducing, but they also play a part in fragrances as well as consumer products. Building yeast that can produce more than one terpene at a time could create blends made for relaxation, focus, or well being. Additionally, a comparison of life-cycle analyses for yeast fermentation versus conventional plant extraction will demonstrate the sustainability advantage of this process and highlights how the project can be environmentally friendly as well as scalable.
In summary, our proof-of-concept lays the groundwork upon which this work has future potential to develop into a practical, nontoxic and ecological diffuser enabling biotechnology in daily life. By integrating strain optimization, product prototyping, human-centered testing and entry into new applications, our project has the ability to transition from lab bench to patient bedside, transforming a synthetic biology concept into a real stress-reduction device is a promising foundation for iGEM studies in the future.