Annual report 2010
Transcription
Annual report 2010
Department of Biotechnology Lund University, Sweden Annual Report 2010 Department of Biotechnology at a glance The Department of Biotechnology at Lund University was founded in 1985 by Professor Bo Mattiasson and is located at the Center for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering in Lund. During the past 26 years, both the number of research areas and number of people have grown. Today the department consists of about 60 researchers, PhD students and staff, and hosts around 10 master students and 30 international guest researchers every year. The research activities at the department are focused on various aspects of environmental-, analytical-, food- medical- and industrial biotechnology and consist of both fundamental and applied research. The department is heavily involved in teaching at the Biotechnology programme and takes active part in the International Master’s programme in Biotechnology at Faculty of Engineering (LTH), Lund University. Department of Biotechnology is actively initiating collaborative projects with industry and other academic institutions and is promoting entrepreneurial activities among its researchers. Another important goal is to spread information about ongoing activities to the surrounding society. Foreword We publish this report to share information about the activities carried out at the Department of Biotechnlogy during year 2010. It is made as an effort to increase the dissemination of information about activities in academic research laboratories to surrounding society. It is our hope and wish to satisfy the need for information felt from the society in general, from the funding bodies and from present and future collaborators. This report describes the ongoing research in a range of fields, from the very basic issues to some very applied, as well as teaching and other activities. It is indeed a privilege to be active in a field with so close contact between fundamental science and applications, and at the same time in fields with great potential for the future and where the development is very fast. We hope that the information presented in this report will stimulate new thoughts and a wish to know more about some specific issues. Please use the contacts given to the individual scientists, or contact the editor of this document. Cover photos: Left: Immunofluorescence micrograph of myoblast cells cultivated in a plasma based cryogel (Photo: Linda Elowsson), Middle: plastic carriers by Kaldnes (KPC) prepared with cryogel used for capturing pollutants and hormones (Photo: Linda Önnby), Right: clover growing on a ley dedicated to growth of biomass for biogas production (Photo: Lovisa Björnsson). CONTENTS Head of Department´s report 4 5 Avdelningen för Biotekniks External communication5 Start-up companies7 Services for external customers 8 Research activities10 Function and stability of enzymes 11 Green chemicals and materials 12 using industrial biotechnology Polymer materials for biotechnological 14 and biomedical applications Bioseparation of biomolecules and 15 environmental pollutants Bioanalysis 16 Biodiversity - source of valuable 17 activities and and products Bioremediation 18 Biotechnology for production of 19 healthy foods Bio-based renewable energy 20 Education21 Courses21 International Master’s Programme 22 in Biotechnology Master thesis projects 22 bi kupa 6 12 International collaborations23 Staff 24 Lab assistants24 Post Docs and Researchers 25 PhD students26 Visiting researchers and students 27 Funding and grants28 Publications29 Journal articles 29 Doctoral degrees and theses31 Conferences 31 14 Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 3 Head of Department´s report plications, etc., have increased. A number of projects involve close collaboration with industries and other research groups. As you will note, some research has also attracted media attention. An interesting collaboration with FDA has been started by Bo Mattiasson and Martin Hedström for detection of viruses. Research at the department has also given birth to some start up companies by our scientists. In 2010, some new projects, funded by EU and national funding agencies, were initiated. Prof. Rajni Hatti-Kaul together with Arti Ozarkar during a visit to Pune, India in 2010. Department of Biotechnology has grown since its inception in 1985 to become one of the largest departments at the Faculty of Engineering of Lund University. Hosting between 90 and 100 researchers and students annually, it is a vibrant and multicultural place of work. 2010 will be remembered by us as the year when the Department moved to renovated labs and offices after many years of waiting and uncertainty. The move has meant a great improvement for our environment. We have been successful in getting rid of our financial deficit and have maintained a healthy economy. This annual report is meant to provide you with a glimpse of the research and education, and various other activities conducted by the department. Although industrial- and environmental biotechnology have been the research areas involving a major part of the department, research in bioanalysis, functional foods, materials for environmental and biomedical ap- We have employed few young scientists in different projects at the department. Four graduate students defended their theses and 10 new students joined the department. We received 23 guests scientists and students from Egypt, India, South Africa, Germany and other countries. Around 15 undergraduate students have been doing their advanced courses and theses projects at the department during 2010. An important milestone of 2010 was the end of our research programme Greenchem after nearly eight years of activity. A well attended final conference in Lund City Hall, highlighting industrial biotechnology as a platform for sustainable growth in Sweden, marked a fine ending of the programme. I thank all my colleagues for making 2010 a good year for Biotechnology. I hope that you will enjoy reading this annual report and will be inspired to get in touch with us. Rajni Hatti-Kaul 12 March 2011 Head of Department Prof. Rajni Hatti-Kaul informs her colleagues about various issues at a department meeting, held in the new kitchen facilities. Photo: Eva Nordberg Karlsson. 4 Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 External communication The Department of Biotechnology is a scientific institution providing an inspiring environment where scientific work and education go hand in hand with interactions with society. We consider engagement with business and industry as well as spreading information to the wider community as very important in being able to meet the needs and expectations from the surroundings. and Lund University innovation system Academia - industry collaborations During year 2010, the department in collaboration with Lund municipality in 2010. You can read more about was actively engaged in several EUthe spin-out companies that have been projects and other collective research started by researchers at the department programmes involving collaboration with industry. The Mistra sponsored on page 7. Greenchem programme as well as the Final year of the Greenchem proVinnova supported Industrial Biotechgramme nology projects are such examples. BeIn 2010, the research programme sides taking part in research programmes and other scientific collaborations where Greenchem reached the end after seven and a half successful years of extensive industrial partners are participating, the department takes on contract research Martin Hedström receiving the Venture Cup collaboration with industry and other academic partners. As during earlier assignments, training of company per- Business idea prize for CapSenze. Photo: Kronvall Foto sonnel and offers specialized courses. years, external communication has been of high priorTwo technology coordinators have the task of encourity and quite extensive. The main activities included a aging the interactions between academia and industry highly appreciated conference on “Industrial Biotechand being ambassadors for entrepreneurial activities at nology - A platform for sustainable growth in Sweden” the department. held in Lund in November. The conference attracted participants from both industry and academia and Spin-out companies from the department they were welcomed by LTH principal Anders AxelsCommercialization of research ideas with market poson. The conference was set out with a talk by Lena Ek, tential is encouraged at the department and a course member of the European Parliment. in entrepreneurship is given to support such activities among researchers and PhD students. During 2010, several start-up companies were born out of the department and together with previous ones formed a small unit, the Biokupa (Bee(o)-hive). The Biokupa is a small pre-incubator where the companies interact, support eachother and meet with external partners. Avdelningen för Biotekniks bi kupa Together with nine other companies one of the startups, CapSenze, was awarded prize for best business idea by Venture cup in late 2009. They also received an honorary award and 50.000 SEK when the innovation prize was handed out by Price Waterhouse Coopers The conference ”Industrial Biotechnology - A platform for sustainable growth in Sweden” (Photo: Malini Hatti). Media coverage on Greenchem was focused on discussing the importance of a biobased economy and the future golden opportunities for production industry to capitalize on the transition from fossil-based to Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 5 renewable raw materials. A debate article written by participants in the Greenchem programme was published in “Dagens Industri” with the title “Don´t waste the leading edge in industrial biotechnlogy”. In 2010, Greenchem´s programme director Rajni Hatti-Kaul received the Swedish Chemical Engineers Association award for her contribution in Green chemistry. All these events, together with the Greenchem homepage (www.greenchem.lu.se), have helped to spread the knowledge about industrial biotechnology to scientists, politicians, business people and the general public. This further helps to introduce a paradigm shift and convince traditional industry of the advantages and opportunities in shifting to a biobased economy. Unexpected research results generated media buzz It is encouraging when the research we perform gets attention from the surrounding society. In the spring of 2010, the research by PhD student Julia Svensson gave headlines in both newspapers and television. Her tailor-made oil with alfa-linolenic acid which is an important source of the fish fats DHA and EPA got lots of media attention when her study also showed that butter leads to considerably less elevation of blood fats after a meal compared with olive oil and the new type of oil. r ö ”Sm ger re läg te fet d blo n rä lja” livo ”Ny olja kan bli framtidens fett” o ”Butter leads to lower blood fats than olive oil” d darsy äd ”Skr r i ny tte da fe oc ttig h ny lja” mato Julia Svensson surrounded by some of the headlines that her research generated during spring of 2010. Photo: KG Pressfoto. The Biogas area continued to draw attention The use of biogas as one of the important future sources of fuel and energy continued to attract interest and lead to collaborative initiatives during 2010. The department is active in LU Biofuels, a multidisciplinary research platform that brings together researchers from across faculties, departments and cen- 6 Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 tres at Lund University. In October 2010, LU Biofuels organised a workshop on cross-disciplinary research opportunities. Lund University researchers participating in the workwhop “Cross disciplinary research opportunities” arranged by LU Biofuels. Photo: Gunnar Lidén. In 2010, the region (Skåne) was appointed by the goverment as pilot region for climate and renewable energy issues. In relation to this, researchers from the department are actively engaged in the work with Färdplan Biogas. This is a project initiated by Biogas Syd to promote the regional development in the biogas area, and it is a collaboration with all major regional actors in the biogas field. The research station at Anneberg attracts many visits of study groups and during such events biogas as well as biorefinery concepts are discussed, often in relation to agricultural activities. Spreading the word Several of our researchers have been invited to give lectures at different seminars, conferences and meetings in academia as well as at industries, both in Sweden and abroad, which can be read in later pages of this annual report. For more and updated information about recent activities visit the home page of the Department of Biotechnology at www.biotek.lu.se! Start-up companies Commercialisation of research results is a very direct way of making important findings and knowledge available to the society. By performing research in an academic climate which at the same time is allowing the screening of business opportunities, inventions can find their way out from the lab bench and become useful to society. At the department of Biotechnology, the exploration of business ideas among researchers is encouraged, for instance by providing the course “Entrepreneurship in Biotechnology”. During 2010, several new companies have seen the light at the department and at the same time the activities in companies started earlier have increased. Below are listed a number of start-up companies that have spun out from the department. A company that started in the beginning of 2006. It grew out from the research in monitoring and control of anaerobic digestion for production of biogas. The company has successfully commercialized a novel lab equipment for measuring biogas potential from different biomass samples and has a pipeline of new products to be commercialized. The company also cooperates with established engineering companies operating large digesters by helping them to improve operational stability and increase the profitability. Contact: Jing Liu. Cap Senze Devenz AB is a researcher-owned company spun-out from the research programme Greenchem. Devenz develops and markets a new family of mild and beneficial surfactants produced by enzymatic catalysis from renewable raw materials. Devenz combines knowledge in material chemistry with enzyme technology to design and produce unique fine- and specialty chemicals that are difficult or impossible to produce with conventional chemistry. Contact: Maria Andersson TM Long term research on capacitive biosensors has led to development of a new type of biosensors. The step from academic research to equipment that can be used by untrained personnel is long, complicated and expensive. In order to bridge this gap, Capsenze was formed. External expertise was engaged and the hardware as well as much of the programming has been dramatically improved. At present a demonstrator unit is developed and a prototype series is under development. Contact: Martin Hedström. Unique technology to prepare supermacroporous materials has been covered by patent applications and several potential areas of exploitation have been studied. A few lead projects are studied and negotiations with partners are ongoing. Contact: Harald Kirsebom Envirum is a knowledge based company, applying current research in practice. Envirum works with biotechnology combined with economy and systems analysis. Together with their customers they design biogas systems that are sustainable from an economic, technical and environmental perspective. Contact: Lovisa Björnsson. The company started with consultancy work some years back. During the last few years new developmental projects have been initiated concomitantly with the acquisition of a good fermentation capacity (total volume above 25 m3). The company has one fulltime employee and some working part-time. Contact: Bo Mattiasson. Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 7 Services for external customers Department of Biotechnology offers services to other academic institutions and industry in different areas where the department has expertise and possesses special equipment or research facilities. We have the possibility to run pilot scale fermentations upto 400 litres scale, design and perform biogas production and biorefinery processes, assist in running mass spectrometry experiments or perform other type of evaluations and optimizations of biotechnological processes or technologies. Contact persons are indicated under the description of each service below. For general inquiries please contact technology coordinator Maria Andersson, maria.andersson@biotek.lu.se, phone: 046-222 36 73. LC-MS/MS Mass spectrometer The mass spectrometer at the Department of Biotechnology is of the type Quadrupole-Time Of Flight, QTOF (Q-Star, Applied Biosystems), which is connected to a LC-system. The mass spectrometer is equipped with an electrospray (Turbospray) ionization source and a nanospray system. The nanospray system can be connected to syringe pumps in order to get a continuous nano-system equipped with capillary columns for separation on a column packed with C18 or other packing material of interest. It has also a Maldi ionization interface. Responsible: Martin Hedström (martin.hedstrom@biotek.lu.se, phone: 046-222 75 78). DSC - Differential Scanning Calorimeter The differential scanning calorimeter (VP-DSC) at the department is a sensitive, easy to use instrument, with an active cell volume of approximately 0.5 ml used for studying samples in solution. The operating temperature of the instrument is in the range of –10ºC to +130ºC, and the instrument has a selectable scan rate in the range of 0ºC to 90ºC per hour (upscan), allowing studies of fast or slow transition processes. It can be used to measure the intramolecular stability of a broad spectrum of biomolecules, including proteins, nucleic acids, lipids and detergent micellar systems. The VP-DSC provides fast, accurate transition midpoint (Tm) determination, as well as a thermodynamic profile that can provide insight into the factors that affect conformation and stability. Responsible: Eva Nordberg Karlsson (eva.nordberg_karlsson@biotek.lu.se, phone: 046-222 46 26). Small scale fermentation At the department we can perform cultivation of microorganisms in shake flasks or small scale fementors (1-5 l). For large scale fermentations see Biorefinery to the right. Responsible: Eva Nordberg Karlsson (eva.nordberg_karlsson@biotek.lu.se, phone: 046-222 46 26). 8 Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 Anneberg Research station The department’s research station is situated at the Anneberg Farm in Svalöv municipality and is equipped with a pilot plant for Biogas production and a pilot scale Biorefinery. To utilize biomass for the production of a plethora of chemicals is a trend in industrial biotechnology today. At the same time the parts of the biomass that cannot efficiently be converted into specific chemicals can be transformed into bioenergy such as biogas. Biorefinery In the biorefinery, chemicals can be produced from biomass using microorganisms or by enzymatic catalysis. The facilities can also be used for the production of microorganisms in large scale. The intentions are to operate in good pilot plant scale (several 100 litres up to a few m3). Besides suitable vessels for the conversions, there is equipment for isolation and purification of the compounds produced. A well equipped service lab is available. The unit is now in operation with the smaller reactors. The larger ones will successively be connected. A few processes will be transferred from the research labs in Lund and scaled up. At the same time a more holistic view on yields and energy efficiency will be applied. A few of the unit operations that will be essential in the future will initially be established in this new unit. Responsible: Bo Mattiasson (bo.mattiasson@biotek. lu.se, phone: 046-222 82 64) and Martin Hedström (martin.hedstrom@biotek.lu.se, phone: 046-222 75 78). Martin Hedström and Marie Andersson at the scaling up process for production of platform chemicals. Photo: Bo Mattiasson. Biogas production facility The biogas research station at Anneberg is an important site for demonstration and for getting increased acceptance of farm based biogas technology. The research station is equipped with biogas reactors of different designs in 1-80 m3 scale, with good facilities for on-line monitoring and data collection. A fully equipped control laboratory is also available on-site. Responsible: Lovisa Björnsson (lovisa.bjornsson@biotek.lu.se, phone: 046-222 83 24). Photos from the biogas production facility at Anneberg research station. Photos: Josefin Ahlqvist Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 9 Research activities In a time when the awareness of climate change is increasing, oil prices are raised and access to clean water for a growing population is limited, it becomes evident that there is a need for more environmentally sustainable approaches to satisfy the basic needs of people. Biotechnology is becoming increasingly more important as being one of the important key technologies that will contribute to a more sustainable future. At the Department of Biotechnology, our research has been directed towards developing environment friendly processes for many years, and in recent years these efforts have attracted more attention and had a higher impact on the surrounding society. The knowledge at the department within enzyme technology, gene technology, cell cultivation techniques, bioseparation, and bioanalysis forms the base for research activities in diverse areas. INDUSTRIAL (“white”) biotechnology has evolved as an important field related to environmental sustainability to position our research in. In the future, biotechnology will play an important role in replacing chemicals and materials based on fossil carbon with renewable feedstocks. This goes hand in hand with the search for alternative energy sources, where biogas production is one of the attractive alternatives. Together with wastewater treatment and bioremediation, energy production constitutes the activities in the important area ENVIRONMENTAL biotechnology. The other areas of interest at the department are MEDICAL biotechnology involving projects on development of materials for tissue engineering, production of pharmaceutical proteins, diagnostics and process analytical technology, and FOOD biotechnology involving antioxidants and production of food components with improved properties. Green chemicals and materials Function and stability of enzymes Biodiversity Biobased renewable energy Industrial biotechnology Bioseparation Medical Biotechnology Polymer materials for biotechnology and biomedicine Environmental Biotechnology Food Biotechnology Bioanalysis Bioremediation Biotechnology for production of healthy foods Overview of the research activities at the Department of Biotechnology. Illustration by Maria Andersson. 10 Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 Function and stability of enzymes Stable and selective catalysts are prerequisites for efficient biocatalytic processes. Development of novel enzymes paired with a good understanding of the target proteins is thus an area of importance for creation of future biocatalysts. Rajni Hatti-Kaul Professor Gashaw Mamo Research Associate Eva Nordberg Karlsson Associate Professor Projects • Specificity design of glycosidases • Sustain-X-Enz (see also Green chemicals and Materials) • GreenChem (see also Green chemicals and Materials) • A thermostable carbohydrate binding module as a general scaffold for diversity and specificity • To explore and understand how xylanases gain high potential as industrial biocatalysts • Improving oxidative stability of lipase • Structure-function of Bacillus sp. phytase Project worker: Christina Wennerberg PhD-students: Samiullah Khan, Tania Pozzo, Rawana Alkhalili, Tran Thi Thuy, Yasser Gaber Post Docs Suhaila Hashim Extremozymes We specialize in research on enzymes from extremophiles, i.e. microorganisms adapted to extreme ecological conditions (heat or cold, high or low pH, or high salt concentration). We use recombinant enzymes, allowing genetic development of the biocatalysts with a desired stability, reaction specificity or production yield. As a natural complement to enzyme development, batch and fed-batch cultivations for their heterologous production are utilized. Our aim is development of biocatalysts for environment friendly processing, e.g. for the production of green chemicals. Carbohydrate modifying enzymes Carbohydrates are essential components in life, and biomass contains an array of structural and storage polysaccharides (e.g. starch, cellulose and hemicellulose) also important in industrial applications. Enzymes acting on these materials are glycoside hydrolases (GHs), which hydrolyse glycosidic bonds between two or more carbohydrates or between a carbohydrate and a non-carbohydrate moiety. These enzymes are subject of growing interest due to a wide range of possible applications contributing to environment friendly processes. Rational and random engineering strategies are utilized to transform a number of GHs into more perfect biocatalysts also structural biology resources are used to understand the molecular reasons for the changed properties. Carbohydrate binding modules are other interesting targets for specificity development. Use of wild type and developed xylanase is explored Detail of homology model of beta-glucosidase from Thermotoga neapolitana showing enhanced binding affinity with the substrate in a project with a South Afri- cellatetraose after mutation of residue N221 (blue) to S (yellow). Figure by Eva Nordberg-Karlsson. can University. Lipase as catalyst fot synthesis of specialty chemicals Candida antarctica lipase B is the most frequently used biocatalyst for synthesis of chemicals. Low activity with certain substrates such as polyhydric alcohols and poor stability during process conditions with high temperature or presence of oxidizing agents pose economic limitations on the industrial application of the biocatalyst for chemicals like complex fatty acid esters, epoxides and cyclic carbonates. We have earlier investigated the structural changes occurring in the enzyme when exposed to oxidizing conditions, in order to use the knowledge for designing stable biocatalyst preparations. Furthermore, using molecular modelling tools, sites for mutagenesis are identified to provide enzyme variants with better activity. Thermostable alkaline phytase for animal feed Phytase is an enzyme used to degrade the antinutritional compound, phytate in animal feed with concominant increase in availability of phosphorus. Our studies involve a highly thermostable alkaline phytase from a Bacillus sp. isolated by us. The high thermal stability allows the enzyme to be included in the feed during pelleting. A number of enzyme variants have been generated by site-directed mutagenesis to improve the activity and stability under acidic conditions. Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 11 Green chemicals and materials using industrial biotechnology Patrick Adlercreutz Professor Carl Grey Research Associate Rajni Hatti-Kaul Professor Martin Hedström Researcher Olle Holst Professor Bo Mattiasson Professor Eva Nordberg Karlsson Associate Professor Sang-Hyun Pyo Researcher Projects -- Greenchem -- Biodegradable plastics -- Industrial biotechnology for production of platform chemicals -- Development of process technologies for immobilized biocatalysts -- Lignin based formaldehyde-free wood adhesives -- Extraction and enzyme modification of compounds from agricultural waste (Sustain-X-Enz) Researchers Cecilia Orellana-Coca, Gashaw Mamo, Javier Linares Pastén, Mohammad Ibra- 12 Industrial biotechnology has a promising role as an enabling technology for production of chemicals, materials and energy from bio-based renewable raw materials. The production processes are based on fermentation or biocatalysis using whole cells or enzymes, and are characterized by reduced energy consumption and waste generation, and biodegradable products. At Department of Biotechnology, activities in industrial biotechnology have proliferated during the past years. Biocatalytic processes are developed for synthesis of speciality- and fine chemicals and for modification of raw materials; enzymes are screened primarily from extremophilic microorganisms and developed for use in the reactions. Fermentation is also used for production of chemicals and polymers. Speciality chemicals from renewable resources - Greenchem The research program Greenchem financed by Mistra (Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research) focuses on the production of “green” chemicals targeted for applications in environment-friendly surface coatings, lubricants, consumer care and cleaning. The programme is Sugar beets are excellent as renewable raw material for production of green chemicals and materials and the waste interdisciplinary involving coopcan be used to produce biogas. Photo: Lovisa Björnsson. eration between biotechnology, environment systems analysis and innovation systems analysis, and also with industries representing an integrated value chain from raw materials to the users of industrial chemicals. Biocatalysis is used for synthesis of the chemicals, preferably under solvent-free conditions. Immobilized enzyme preparations are developed inhouse whenever necessary. The different products that have been synthesized using biocatalysis include fatty epoxides, glycidyl ethers and polyester acrylates for use in surface coatings, complex fatty acid esters as biolubricants, alkyl glycosides and alkanolamides for use as biosurfactants. Lipase immobilized to different matrices and crosslinked lipase aggregates have been tested with an aim to develop cost-effective and stable biocatalyst preparations. During 2010, immobilized lipase was used as a catalyst for synthesis of six membered cyclic carbonates to be used as monomers for polyurethanes, as an alternative to the process using toxic phosgene and isocyanate. Cyclodextrin glycosyltransferases (CGTases) and other enzymes have been used to elongate the carbohydrate part of alkyl glycosides, thereby giving products which were previously impossible to synthesize. A patent application has been submitted and the methodology is currently further improved to increase efficiency and to decrease process him, Natalia Volkova, Ravi Kiran Purama, Ulrika Törnvall, David Svensson, Daniela Zehentgruber, Fatima Plieva Project workers Elin Brun, Marie Andersson, Regine Wuttke, Pontus Lundemo PhD students Daniel Guzman, Hector Guzman, Marlene Munoz, Ramin Sabet, Roya Rezaei, Tarek Dishisha, Victor Ibrahim, Yasser Gaber, Gustav Rehn Post Docs Teresa Alvarez Aliaga, Ravi Kiran Purama, Javier Linares Pastén, Catherine Paul, Konstanze Stiba, Sang-Hyun Pyo, Suhaila Hashim, Daniela Zehentgruber Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 costs. Thermostable enzymes from hyperthermophiles have been evaluated for the synthesis of alkyl glycosides. Platform chemicals from renewable resources In a VINNOVA (The Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems) funded project, by-products of agriculture and biofuel industry are used as raw materials for production of organic acids using industrial biotechnology. The organic acids serve as building blocks for other important secondary chemicals. The project is co-ordinated by Perstorp AB and involves 5 other companies. Lab-scale processes based on free- and immobilized cells have been developed for production of propionic acid from glycerol. A new green route for synthesis of methacrylic acid has been developed. Immobilized biocatalysts on titan oxide with different charges from 0.5 - 10%. Photo: Carl Grey Development of process technologies for immobilized biocatalysts In this VINNOVA funded project methodology for the immobilization of enzymes and whole cell catalysts is developed. The project is coordinated by Cambrex Karlskoga and involves three other companies. Demonstration processes for production of chiral amines, dihydroxyacetone and 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde are developed. Halophilic bacteria as a source of biodegradable plastics and compatible solutes Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biodegradable polymers produced by several bacteria as energy reservoirs. PHAs can be used as disposable plastics in several areas ranging from packing commodities to medical devices. We have isolated a number of novel moderately halophilic PHA-producing bacteria from saline lakes in Bolivia. Production of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) by Halomonas boliviensis has been investigated and improved significantly. Hydrophilic PHB scaffolds have been produced by low temperature phase separation and enzymatic modification for application in tissue engineering applications. Also, a highly productive process for production of the compatible solutes – ectoine and hydroxyectoine using H. boliviensis has been developed. Extraction and enzyme modification of compounds from agricultural waste (SuReTech) This research program involving researchers from Lund [Biotechnology (E Nordberg Karlsson), Environmental systems analysis (P Börjesson), and Organic chemistry (C Turner)] and Uppsala universities [P Sjöberg, T Fornstedt] funded by Formas, aims to make an impact in recovery of high-value compounds from agricultural byproducts/waste using environmentally sustainable techniques. Fundamental studies are performed around supercritical carbon dioxide and pressurized hot water extraction, targeting industrially and nutritionally valuable compounds (a first target antioxidative molecules) in for example onion skin, and birch bark. Thermostable enzymes are used in high-temperature/pressure processes to convert/derivatize target compounds to facilitate analytical determination as well as increase the yield. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is applied to evaluate proposed processes and utilization of waste materials. Lignin based formaldehyde-free wood adhesives This project aims to look at the possibility to modify the lignin enzymatically to make it more reactive for cross-linking with other molecules and to evaluate the modified structures for gluing properties. Cross-linking of the modified lignin with other molecules will be based on the knowledge on the structure of proteinaceous “super-glues” produced by marine organisms such as mussels and barnacles to anchor themselves to rocks. Development of strong and environmentally benign wood adhesives from lignin would thus potentially result in a reduction in the use of formaldehyde based adhesives. During 2010, lignin model compounds have been used as substrates in order to understand the modifications due to action of lignin modifying enzymes. Engineering extremophiles for production of energy carriers This collaboration project [between Biotechnology, Lund University (E Nordberg Karlsson) and the company Matis on Iceland (GO Hreggvidsson)] funded by Formas, is focusing on the use of thermophilic microorganisms as cell factories for the production of energy carriers and other potentially interesting intermediates. Efficient lignocellulose degraders are known among the thermophiles, and among those as well as known producers of e.g. ethanol, a few organisms are selected for the development of transformation tools allowing engineering of the pathways. Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 13 Polymer Materials for Biotechnological and Biomedical Applications Combining polymer technology and biotechnology yields a range of new materials with interesting properties for use in areas such as bioseparation, medical biotechnology and biocatalysis. Bo Mattiasson Professor Harald Kirsebom Post Doc Projects • Fundamentals of cryopolymerization • Cryostructuration of suspensions • Cryogels with bimodal pore distribution • Cryostructured microorganisms • Autologous cryogels for tissue engineering • PHB based scaffolds • Protein based cryogels • MATISS - An EU project utilizing cryogels for skin regeneration PhD students: Oksana Zaushitsyna Gry Jespersen Daniel Guzman Marlene Munoz Post docs: Dimitry Berillo Rita La Spina Chunyu Yang Linda Elowsson Visiting Students Séverine Cozzi A material prepared by cryostructuration of a suspension of poly N-Isopropylacrylamide (NIPA). Photo: Harald Kirsebom 14 Cryogels These gels are highly porous hydrogels which are formed by a process which is inspired from how sea water freezes. An interesting property of freezing water solutions is that a two phase system is formed in which the major phase is the ice crystals and a small phase is a non-frozen phase with a high concentration of any solutes. The cryogels produced are thus formed as a result of polymerization reactions or chemically crosslinking in a partially frozen system in which the ice crystals act as porogens. Projects within this area involve fundamental research and application of the materials. Fundamental studies are being done in order to clearly understand how the process works and thus optimize its properties. Biomaterials Cryogels made from proteins and other biopolymers are being evaluated as potential scaffolds for tissue engineering. Blood and plasma have been evaluated as a source of proteins which could be used for preparation of potential autologous scaffolds. These scaffolds have then been evaluated for the cultivation of muscle cells; the in vitro experiments have been very promising. These studies are carried out in collaboration with Prof. Madeleine Durbeej at BMC, Lund University. Cryostructuration of suspensions Superporous materials formed from freezing suspensions and simultaneously crosslinking the particles have been prepared from either microbial cells or from synthetic particles. This produces materials which might be interesting in a number of different applications such as biocatalysis or as adsorbents. Materials from bacterial cells offer the potential of a high cell density and an efficient mass transfer within the structure. By varying the chemical used for crosslinking the cells the viability of the cells can be tailored. These structures are currently being evaluated either for production of butanol or for chiral amines. Stimuli-responsive polymers Stimuli-responsive polymers change their macroscopic behaviour as a result of a small change in an environmental parameter. By aggregating stimuli-responsive polymers into small particles that later are ordered into a superporous structure, dramatic shifts in behaviour of the formed gels are seen when the temperature changes over the transition temperature. Immunofluorescence micrograph of myoblast cells cultivated in a protein based cryogel. Photo: Linda Elowsson Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 Superporous material prepared from bovine blood with the red blood cells embedded in the polymeric structure. Photo: Harald Kirsebom. Bioseparation of Biomolecules and Environmental pollutants Our research in the area of bioseparation deals with development of procedures for isolation of specific biomolecules. Rajni Hatti-Kaul Professor Bo Mattiasson Professor Harald Kirsebom Post Doc Sang-Hyun Pyo Researcher Projects • Phages as affinity ligands in cryogels • Environmental separation • Carbosorb; An EU project utilizing carbon particles and cryogels for environmental separations • Isolation of PUFA from industrial waste streams • Isolation of phosphorylated peptides • Separation of proteases from fish waste • MONACO-Extra an EU project working on blood purification using cryogels • Industrial biotechnology for production of platform chemicals PhD students Tarek Dishisha Solmaz Hajizadeh Gry Ravn Jespersen Betty Mbatia Zulma Perez Roya Rezaei Neida Rios Deepti Sahoo Linda Önnby Post docs Aarti Ozakar Chunyu Yang Rita La Spina Visiting Students Ally Mahadhi Marissa Punzi Wuraola Akande Development and applications of new materials for bioseparation - Cryogels encased into Kaldnes plastic carriers are developed for operation in stirred tank reactors combining the robustness of plastic carriers with high porosity and facilitated mass-transport within cryogels. Applications are both in protein separation and in environmental separation for enriching target molecules from crude feed streams. - Tailor-made cryogels are developed A material prepared by cryostructuration of a suspension of bacterial cells. Photo: Harald for enzyme and cell immobilization al- Kirsebom lowing processing turbid feeds due to large interconnected pores within cryogels. - Macroporous gels with embedded activated carbon particles have been prepared by cryostructuration of suspensions which allows retention of the adsorptive properties of the carbon. These carbon containing materials are being investigated for environmental applications. - Removal of heavy metals from waste water is being addressed by developing cryogels either with chelating groups or as composite materials. Molecularly imprinted polymers are also being studied for the removal of heavy metal ions from waste water. - Cryogels with ion-exchange properties are being evaluated for the purification of proteins from crude extracts. Composite cryogels filled in Kaldnes carriers for bromate-removal in water. Photo: Solmaz Hajizadeh - Work is ongoing in an EU FP7 project to develop a macroporous cryogel which can be utilized for the removal of toxic compounds from blood. Efficient processes for purification of biomolecules - The process for isolation and purification of poly-unsaturated fatty acids from fish waste has been developed. - Isolation of surface active compounds after enzymatic synthesis presents a lot of separation challenges. A new chromatographic process has been developed and is now evaluated in simulated moving bed (SMB) mode. - Recovery of platform chemicals like propionic acid and 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde using different separation techniques is investigated to choose the most effective one for further scale up. Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 15 Bioanalysis Bo Mattiasson Professor Martin Hedström Researcher Projects • Development of analytical systems for the trace-amount detection of bacterial toxins • Analytical approach for the monitoring of affinity column ligand leakage • Monitoring of HIV capsid p24 protein • Development of an affinity sensor based on application of intact membrane proteins • A process analytical technology (PAT) approach for the concomitant on-line monitoring of target proteins and bacterial contaminants present during purification • Monitoring and control of host cell proteins (HCPs) during recombinant production using a capacitive biosensor • Monitoring and control of recombinant human growth hormone during fermentation and downstream processing using capillaryLC/MS • Developments of cell-based flow devices for process control PhD students Mohammad Mazlomi Kinga Zor Visiting researchers and project workers Shabana Basheer Marie Andersson Kosin Teeparuksapan Bioanalytical techniques for quality control Quality control with regard to chemical composition involves analysis. The more sensitive analysis, the better control can be offered, provided that the analysis is simple, robust and quick. Several different applications are studied: • continuous integrated sampling and monitoring of fermentations • quality control of food and feed • monitoring of trace amounts of microbial toxins • tracing viral infections via ultrasensitive assay of viral proteins • monitoring of trace impurities during biopharmaceutical production A few basic technology platforms have been developed: • flow-injection binding assays • capacitive affinity biosensor for ultrasensitive monitoring • electrochemical affinity sensors Trace amount of impurities are attracting a lot of interest today among pharmaceutical companies producing proteins/peptides for injection. This is addressed in several projects and involves monitoring of endotoxin, host cell proteins and ligands that have leaked from affinity adsorbents used (e.g. protein A from purification of monoclonal antibodies). Furthermore, a new technology for detection of low levels of truncated proteins during the production of recombinant proteins has been developed, which allows quick detection and facilitates harvest of the valuable compound as soon as the levels of truncated molecules start to rise. In-process control using flow injection analysis (FIA) Flow-based assays with exceedingly high sample reproducibility can be a valuable tool when monitoring a bioprocess. A plethora of different unit operations can be implemented in the assay architecture to facilitate the performance, e.g. direct Prototype of capacitive biosensor for analysis of viral markers. sampling, cell disintegration, Photo: Martin Hedström dialysis etc. One important area within the bioanalysis group is to develop tools and methods based on FIA. A versatile, highly flexible and fully automated flow system has recently been developed which will be used for monitoring and control of monoclonal antibody production from a mammalian cell cultivation. Process analytical technology (PAT) Regardless of detection principle, it is within the concept of process analytical technology (PAT) of great importance to be able to perform integrated sampling, transportation and processing of the sample taken from e.g. the fermentation vessel in a well-defined and controlled way. Hence, research activities within the bioanalytical area require significant automation which is now addressed clearly by us. Capacitive biosensors for medical applications Together with Food&Drug Administration (FDA) in the US, we are developing an ultrasentitive immunochemical assay for a capsid protein p24 from the HIV coat. Several other applications are being evaluated at present. 16 Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 Biodiversity - source of valuable activities and products Rajni Hatti-Kaul Professor Olle Holst Professor Gashaw Mamo Research Associate Bo Mattiasson Professor Projects • Isolation and characterization of extremophiles from highly alkaline and saline environments • Anaerobic microorganisms for biotechnological applications • Screening for antimicrobial substances from thermophiles from hot spring in Jordan • Screening for polysaccharide producing LABs from Indian indigenous foods PhD students Rawana Al Khalili, Rosa Aragão, Georgina Chavez, Carla Crespo, Daniel Guzman, Victor Ibrahim, Laura Mendoza, Serena Bisagni Post Docs Teresa Alvarez Aliaga, Javier Linares Pasten Visiting student Ami Patel Microbial diversity existing in nature is extremely vast. Only a small fraction of the natural microorganisms have so far been identified. Microorganisms inhabiting extreme environments, the so called extremophiles, have been of interest both for understanding the mechanisms used by them for survival as well as for exploiting their potential for applications requiring extreme conditions. Over the years, a diverse group of extremophiles have been isolated at Department of Biotechnology from samples of alkaline soda lakes in East African Rift Valley, hot springs in Iceland, and saline Altiplano region of Bolivia. A number of novel microorganisms belonging to genera Bacillus, Dietzia, Brevibacterium, Halomonas, Amphibacillus etc have been identified. The studies on biodiversity have involved collaborations with universities in the respective countries. Some interesting hydrolytic enzymes from exBacteria isolated from sewage tremophiles have been investigated for use in water. Photo: Nagwa Elnwishy applications such as animal feed, production of chemicals, etc. Some halophilic bacteria are being used for the production of biopolyester, polyhydroxybutyrate and compatible solutes. Some other novel microorganisms including Dietizia sp. isolated from alkaline environments have been screened for the presence of monooxygenase activities, and an assay for rapid screening of cyclohexanone consuming bacteria has been developed. The gene encoding a monooxygenase in Dietizia sp. is partially sequenced. Isolation and characterization of thermophiles from hot springs in Jordan is going on with special attention to production of antimicrobial substances. Several strains (Bacillus sp.) exhibiting activity have been found and their antimicrobial profiles are currently being investigated. Anaerobic microorganisms play an important role in many cycles of elements in nature, however, they are poorly understood. During the year the work has continued to isolate new organisms producing enzymes with special properties. The isolation is based on the microdroplet technique, which allows many more organisms to be isolated and identified than that achieved by classical techniques. Several new species e.g. some new Clostridium species, have been isolated. Genes from some anaerobes are being cloned and expressed for use in the production of platform chemicals. White-rot fungi are often efficient at degradation of aromatic structures. Among several fungi isolated from the tropical regions of Bolivia good producers of oxidative enzymes including peroxidases and laccase have been found. One example is Galerina sp., which has been investigated for its capability of producing laccase. The enzyme has been characterized and evaluated for modification of lignin and lignin model compounds, and, decolorization of textile dyes. Indian local foods and plant material are being screened for polysaccharide producing lactic acid bacteria in collaboration with Agricultural University Anand, India. Currently ca 20 isolates (e.g. Weissella and Lactobacillus) out of several hundreds are selected for further characterization. The polysaccharides will be further investigated for applications in foods. Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 17 Bioremediation Bo Mattiasson Professor Marika Murto Research Associate Projects • Enrichment of heavy metals on chelating matrices before release and precipitation • Capture of arsenic from water environments using different adsorbent materials • Enrichment and destruction of endocrine disruptors in wastewater • Development of separation tools and systems specially adapted to waste water treatment • Recovery of phosphorus and nitrogen from wastewaters • Degradation of textile dyes in wastewater from textile industries • Photochemical oxidation of organic pollutants as a pre-step to biodegradation • Biosensor for environmental analysis PhD students Maria Jonstrup Linda Önnby Maryam Latifian Removal and degradation of hazardous compounds Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) include a large variety of substances such as pesticides, surfactants and wood preservatives as well as products released from industrial activities. Heavy metals belong to another group of compounds causing severe environmental problems. The department has focused much attention on developing biotechnological methods, either alone or in combination with physical treatment, to degrade or immobilize these hazardous compounds. Sometimes the concentrations are very low, and then an enrichment step can be used before treatment. This is especially useful for removal of endocrine disruptors and pharmaceuticals, which has come into focus in recent years. To immobilize environmental pollutants, different strategies can be used and one is to use adsorbents. Adsorbents for environmental applications should be reusable, mechanically stable and efficient in removing the target pollutant. At the department of biotechnology, different adsorbents are being developed, characterized and evaluated for capture of heavy metals and metalloids, such as copper and arsenic, to be used in large scale. Most of the adsorbent systems are based on porous, spongy and highly interconnected gels, cryogels. In recent projects, carbon based adsorbents have been used as well. The adsorbents can be applied in columns or in stirred tank reactors, depending on where the environmental pollutant is found. Removing pollutants from water environments is one step towards Novel adsorbents based on macropurous gel are a sustainable development. prepared inside plastic carriers in order to gain mechanical strength. With chelating ligands attached to the gel matrix, metal ions like copper can be captured from water solutions. Photo: Linda Önnby. Visiting researchers Marisa Punzi Alejandro Bravo Hermida Treatment of textile dyes Another area where biotechnological methods can be used is in the treatment of textile dyes. In textile industries, considerable amounts of water and chemicals are used. During the dyeing process about 20% of dye is lost to the wastewater and wastewaters from textile industries contain large amounts of dyes as well as organic matter and salts. The focus of the project is degradation of dyes using white rot fungi or bacteria combined with advanced oxidation processes such as photocatalysis or photo-Fenton oxidation. The aim is to deliver a viable treatment method to the textile industry for cleaner production. Removal of phosphorous and nitrogen from wastewaters Formation of magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate (MAP) also known as struvite, which often happens spontaneously in many wastewater treatment plants, has gained much attention for the recovery of both nitrogen and phosphorus. The target of this project is to further study the factors influencing struvite crystallization, optimizing crystallization processes and also to evaluate the slow nutrient releasing properties of struvite to be used as a fertilizer. Struvite scales formed in Wastewater Treatment Plant. Photo: Maryam Latifian 18 Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 Picture (top): Plastic carriers by Kaldnes (KPC) prepared with cryogel used for capture of pollutants and hormones. Photo: Linda Önnby Biotechnology for production of healthy foods Recent advances in biotechnology have increased the possibilities to make food components with improved properties. Enzymatic methods are used to tailor-make lipids containing health-promoting fatty acids, such as omega-3 fatty acids. Likewise enzymes can be used for preparation of health-promoting carbohydrates from plant material. Patrick Adlercreutz Professor Olle Holst Professor Carl Grey Research Associate Eva Nordberg Karlsson Associate Professor Projects • Safe food products containing long-chain omega-3 fatty acids • Health promoting lipids containing alfa-linolenic acid • Antidiabetic carbohydrates by enzymatic transformation of plant material • Microbial dietary fibers for human health and well-being PhD students Cecilia Lindström Julia Svensson Peter Falck Betty Mbatia Post Docs Mushtaq Ahmad Shiva Shanker Kaki Optimisation of the health properties of alfa-linolenic acid The department is involved in one project within the FUNCFOOD program organised by the Functional Food Science Centre at Lund University. The PhD student Julia Svensson is jointly supervised by Patrick Adlercreutz and by Åke Nilsson and Lena Ohlsson at the Medical Faculty. The project concerns lipids rich in the omega-3 fatty acid, alfa-linolenic acid. There is evidence that the preferential oxidation of alfa-linolenic acid may be beneficial in fighting obesity and diabetes. Starting from natural fats and oils such as rape seed oil, linseed oil and butter oil, enzymes are used as catalysts for making new products with the aim to optimise the health promoting properties of alfa-linolenic acid. The physiological effects of the new products in humans are studied as part of the project at the Medical Faculty. New tailor-made cooking oil could become the fat for the future Enzymatic modification of carbohydrates The department is also running two projects within the Antidiabetic food center (AFC). In one project, we (Patrick Adlercreutz, Eva Nordberg Karlsson, and Henrik Stålbrand from the Biochemistry department) are using glycoside hydrolases for selective hydrolysis of plant material (focusing on agricultural byproducts). The carbohydrate products obtained are evaluated with respect to physiological effects in animals and ability to promote growth of probiotic bacteria. Research in a related area is also supported by VINNOVA (Bioform). Health benefits of polysaccharides Consumption of beta-glucans from e.g. oat has been shown to reduce cholesterols levels in blood thereby reducing the risk for coronary vascular diseases. Other soluble fibers from plant material have also been demonstrated to have similar effects. We are now exploring possible health beneficial effects of microbial soluble fibers (polysaccharides) in a project together with Prof. Per Hellstrand and Dr Krisitina Andersson at Dept of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University and Aventure AB and with support from Antidiabetic Food Center. Various commercially available products as well as our Chromatogram showing the effect of amylase treatment on the own isolates (see “Biomonomeric sugar composition in rye bran. This is a pretreatment step diversity”) are evalubefore selective preparation of oligosaccharides from the hemicellulose fraction is made. Figure by Eva Nordberg-Karlsson. ated in animal models for their effects. Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 19 Bio-based renewable energy Lovisa Björnsson Associate Professor Jing Liu Research Associate Bo Mattiasson Professor Marika Murto Research Associate Projects • Crops 4 biogas: an interdisciplinary project on the sustainability in production of biogas from energy crops • Wrams Gunnarstorp: optimizing large scale co-digestion • Challenges in large scale production of biogas from energy crops • Dry anaerobic digestion of marine substrates in two-stage systems • Biogas collaboration Sweden-China • Biogas production from oat and oat processing residues • Biological hythane production from biomass • Enzymatic upgrading of biogas • Counteracting ammonia inhibition in anaerobic digesters by struvite crystallization • Thermophilic microorganism catalyses production of ethanol from glucose and/or xylose • Project for developing the concept of “Intelligent Biogas Plant” • Measurement of biogas potential using a multichannel device for registration of potential and kinetics A sustainable bioenergy system should: 1. be resource efficient, 2. have a high energy efficiency, 3. have maximized environmental benefits and 4. be cost efficient. These four issues are addressed in the bioenergy research at Department of Biotechnology. Biomass based production of ethanol, hydrogen, methane or combinations hereof are studied, with focus on the microbial methane production process. Challenging research issues are how to improve microbial and operational efficiency of the systems, which in our research is addressed by: • Improved energy efficiency, giving higher energy output. This is achieved by optimized process design, improved process control, or pretreatment of substrates for higher conversion rates. • Quantification and optimisation of the environmental benefits inherent in the process. • Biorefinery concepts, where high-value products are produced, combined with energy production from the residuals to ensure sustainability. Project leader for ”Crops 4 biogas” Lovisa Björnsson at energy crop cultivation trials at SLU Alnarp. Biofertilized hemp and jerusalem artichoke, high yielding crops for the production of chemicals and energy carriers. Photo: Emma Kreuger. PhD students Ivo and Betty outside the biogas plant at Wrams Gunnarstorp where they collected samples for a joint project on fat extraction and biogas production from fish waste. Photo: Lovisa Björnsson. PhD students Malik Badshah, Carla Crespo, Nges Ivo Achu, Emma Kreuger, Maryam Latifian, Valentine Nkongndem Nkemka Visiting researchers and students Lam Minh Duong, Xinmei Fu, Sten Strömberg Research engineers Dalibor Jovanovic 20 PhD student Malik Badshah studying the biomethane potential of different organic biomasses in Automatic Methane Potential System (AMPTS) from Bioprocess control. Photo: Zeeshan Nasir. Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 Picture top: Industrial hemp can be used for bioconversion to ethanol and biogas. Photo: Lovisa Björnsson. Education Courses In 2010 the department was responsible for eleven courses at Master’s level and three courses belonging to the LTH independent course program. The number of students has increased over the past years which has resulted in a slightly higher work load for responsible teachers but also created a larger pool of students available for master thesis projects and as possible recruits for PhD positions. Courses offered during 2010 are listed below. Moreover, during the summer of 2010, the department hosted the much appreciated BESTcourse for 26 students coming from other countries in Europe. BEST is an acronym for Board of European Students of Technology and the course covered the role of biotechnology in a sustainable society Course Laboratory exercise in the course Environmental biotechnology, KBT080. Photo: Lovisa Björnsson. Code Credits (hp) No. of students Responsible teacher Programme related courses Bioanalytical chemistry KBT050 7.5 34 Maria Andersson Bioprocess technology KBT115 7.5 65 Olle Holst Biotechnological separation processes KBT060 7.5 32 Olle Holst Biotechnology, process and plant design KBT042 15 28 Olle Holst Biotechnology KKKA05 15 67 Olle Holst Biotechnology, Advanced course KBT410 15 3 Olle Holst Environmental biotechnology KBT080 7.5 25 Lovisa Björnsson Enzyme technology KBK031 7.5 43 Patrick Adlercreutz Green chemistry and biotechnology KBTF01 7.5 32 Eva Nordberg Karlsson Degree project in biotechnology for a Bachelor of Science KBTL01 15 1 Olle Holst Engineering training course KBTF97 15 1 Olle Holst Entrepreneurship in biotechnology TNK021 7.5 30 Maria Andersson Green chemistry and biotechnology TNK280 7.5 2 Eva Nordberg Karlsson New solutions to old problems - biotechnology for a sustainable society TFRF35 3 28 Olle Holst 3 3 Martin Hedström Independent courses PhD courses Mass spectrometry Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 21 International Master’s programme in Biotechnology In 2010 the Department of Biotechnology took active part in teaching and supervising students in the International Master’s programme in Biotechnology. Besides participating in several of the courses offered by the department, some of the students chose to do their master thesis projects at the department. The objective of this programme is to offer courses focused on modern methods of Biotechnology. Prof. Olle Holst is the coordinator of the programme. Several European students supported by Erasmus programme also chose to do their Master thesis projects at the Department. Master thesis projects BHUTADA GOVINDPRASAD Nutrient dependent physiological characterization of Pichia stipitis CBS 6054 CARLQVIST KARIN Development of a FIA-system for simple on-line quantification of glycerol using a cryogel with immobilized Gluconobacter oxydans DISHISHA TAREK A bioprocess for production and purification of rifamycin B HAJI ALLY Enrichment of phosphorylated proteins using Fe(III) polyacrylamide nitrilotriacetic acid monolith cryogel with subsequent mass spectrometric analysis HALLQUIST JAKOB Acidogenic fermentation of industrial wastewater JOHANSSON SANDRA Towards development of an oat based yoghurt KARABEGOVIC LAMIJA Nutrient recovery from anaerobically digested and thermally pretreated waste activated sludge liquors by struvite precipitation LARSON JOHN High-yield fed-batch production of Bacillus subtilis spores PALMEROS PARADA MARÍA DEL MAR Biogas production from oat and oat processing residues PERSSON ELIN Prediction model for co-digestion effects on biogas production. Development and evaluation with experimental data from biological methane potential tests PUNZI MARISA Assessment of biological, chemical and combined treatments for color removal and COD reduction of azo dyes at lab scale. STRÖMBERG STEN Development and evaluation of numerical models for anaerobic digestion TEIXERA CRISTINA Steam and xylanase treatment of oat husks for applications as prebiotic. WANG YANMING Comparative study of the secretory expression of two insulin analog precursors in S. cerevisiae A multicultural meeting place International celebration of Lucia and visit by Santas in Dec. 2010. Photo:Rosa Aragao and Siv Holmqvist Celebration of Diwali with our Indian students and researchers. Photos: Shiva Shanker. At the Greenchem conference held at Lund city hall, Nov. 2010. 22 Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 Group meeting in the DSP group. International collaborations During 2010, the department collaborated with universities, institutes and companies in about 30 countries worldwide. The collaboration included both minor initiatives such as student exchange as well as large research programmes spanning over several years. The collaboration covered all major research areas at the department. North, Central and South America NICARAGUA Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Nicaragua, Managua BOLIVIA Universidad Mayor de San Andres, La Paz Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Cochabam ba ARGENTINA University of La Pampa, Santa Rosa US U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Alabama Europe ICELAND Matis (Prokaria), Reykjavik GREAT BRITAIN University of Bath University of Brighton University of Southampton MAST Carbon International Ltd Clinimed Electrochemical sensor technology ltd. FRANCE Evaluation technologiquee ingénierie et applica tions DENMARK Technical University of Denmark Risö DTU National Laboratory for sustainable energy HUNGARY Budapest University of technology and economics MFKK invention and research center services ltd. Hungarian grain and feed association Dunagabona grain and fodder trading ltd. GERMANY Technical University, Braunschweig Christian-Albrechts University, Kiel Polymerics GmbH, Berlin Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf GREECE Association Hellenique des commercants de cereales et d’aliments de betail Union of Agricultural cooperatives of Rethymno Dimitriaki Societe anonyme – Trade of agricultural products – ship brokers Center for support and promotion of organic products HOLLAND CLEA Technologies, Delft BELGIUM KuLeuven Campus Kortrijk Beroepsvereniging van de Handelaarsin Graangewassen en andere Landbouwproducten VZW Hogeschool Gent Universiteit Gent AUSTRIA Technical University, Graz PORTUGAL University of Algarve, Faro SPAIN Valladolid University, Valladolid Confederacion Espanola de Fabricantes de Alimentos Compuestos para animales Asociacion Espanola de Fabricantes de masas congeladas Africa BOTSWANA Botswana International University of Science and Technology EGYPT Suez Canal University, Ismailia Cairo University, Cairo Beni-Sueif University Nuclear Research Centre, Cairo KENYA University of Nairobi, Nairobi TANZANIA University of Dar es Salaam SOUTH AFRICA Durban University of Technology University of Limpopo Asia TURKEY Hacettepe University, Ankara IRAN Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan INDIA Agharkar Research Institute, Pune Central Food Technology Research Institute, Mysore Anand Agricultural University, Anand, Gujarat SRI LANKA University of Jaffna, Jaffna SAUDI ARABIA King Fahd University of Petroleum and Miner als THAILAND Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok Prince of Songkhla University, Hat Yai VIETNAM Hanoi University of Education, Hanoi MALAYSIA Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor CHINA Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Bejing Zhejiang University of Technology Figure (right): The Department of Biotechnology has collaborations in about 30 countries. Illustration by Dept. of Biotechnology. Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 23 Staff Josefin Ahlqvist Annette Bennvid Programme Secretary Technology Coordinator josefin.ahlqvist@biotek.lu.se +46-46-2224838 Economy Administrator +46-46-2229307 Rajni Hatti-Kaul Martin Hedström Researcher martin.hedstrom@biotek.lu.se +46-46-2227578 Siv Holmqvist Olle Holst Professor Head of Department rajni.hatti-kaul@biotek.lu.se +46-46-2224840 Jing Liu Gashaw Mamo Research Associate gashaw.mamo@biotek.lu.se +46-46-2224741 Bo Mattiasson Marika Murto Frans Peder Nilson Research Associate jing.liu@biotek.lu.se +46-46-2228347 Research Associate marika.murto@biotek.lu.se +46-46-2228193 Research Engineer frans_peder.nilson@biotek.lu.se +46-46-2224948 Eva Nordberg Karlsson Shukun Yu Amin Mollaahmad Regine Wuttke Patrick Adlercreutz Maria Andersson Professor patrick.adlercreutz@biotek.lu.se +46-46-2224842 Technology Coordinator maria.andersson@biotek.lu.se +46-46-2223673 Carl Grey Research Associate carl.grey@biotek.lu.se +46-46-2228735 Associate Professor eva.nordberg_karlsson@biotek.lu.se +46-46-2224626 Adjunct Professor shukun.yu@biotek.lu.se +46-06-2228157 Professor bo.mattiasson@biotek.lu.se +46-46-2228264 Secretary siv.holmqvist@biotek.lu.se +46-46-2229856 Lovisa Björnsson Associate Professor lovisa.bjornsson@biotek.lu.se +46-46-2228324 Professor olle.holst@biotek.lu.se +46-46-2229844 Christina Wennerberg Research Engineer christina.wennerberg@biotek.lu.se +46-46-2224681 Lab assistants Marie Andersson Laboratory Assistant marie.andersson@biotek.lu.se 24 Elin Brun Laboratory Assistant Pontus Lundemo Laboratory Assistant pontus.lundemo@biotek.lu.se Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 Laboratory Assistant amin.mollaahmad@biotek.lu.se Laboratory Assistant Post Docs and Researchers Teresa Alvarez Aliaga Mushtaq Ahmed Mohammad Ibrahim Suhaila Hashim javier.linares_pasten@biotek.lu.se Sang-Hyun Pyo Ravi Kiran Purama ravi_kiran.purama@biotek.lu.se Sindu Mathew Shiva Shanker sang-hyun.pyo@biotek.lu.se Shiva.Shanker@biotek.lu.se Chunyu Yang Daniela Zehentgruber chunyu.yang@biotek.lu.se Dimitry Berillo dimitry.berillo@biotek.lu.se mohammad.ibrahim@biotek.lu.se Javier Linares Pastén Shabana Basheer Harald Kirsebom harald.kirsebom@biotek.lu.se Linda Elowsson linda.elowsson@biotek.lu.se Rita La Spina rita.la_spina@biotek.lu.se Cecilia Orellana Coca Aarti Ozarkar Fatima Plieva David Svensson Ulrika Törnvall Natalia Volkova david.svensson@biotek.lu.se aarti.ozarkar@biotek.lu.se ulrika.tornvall@biotek.lu.se fatima.plieva@biotek.lu.se natalia.volkova@biotek.lu.se Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 25 PhD students Rawana Al-Khalili Rosa Peralta Aragão Malik Badshah malik.badshah@biotek. Serena Bisagni Hugo Cavero rosa.aragao@biotek.lu.se Georgina Chavez Lizarraga Carla Crespo Abolgashem Danesh Tarek Dishisha Peter Falck Reza Faryar Daniel Guzmán Hector Guzmán Alvaro Rojas Gutierrez Anna Hagström Solmaz Hajizadeh Yasser Gaber Hasan Victor Ibrahim Gry Ravn Jespersen gry.jespersen@biotek.lu.se Maria Jonstrup victor.ibrahim@biotek.lu.se MA Kumar Maryam Latifian maryam.latifian@biotek.lu.se Cecilia Lindström ma.kumar@biotek.lu.se bettty.mbatia@biotek.lu.se Laura Mendoza Fernandez Marlene Munoz Gaitan Nges Ivo Achu Zulma Perez Tania Pozzo Gustav Rehn rawana.alkhalili@biotek.lu.se carla.crespo@biotek.lu.se georgina.chavez@biotek.lu.se reza.faryar@biotek.lu.se daniel.guzman@biotek.lu.se solmaz.hajizadeh@biotek.lu.se yasser.gaber@biotek.lu.se Samiullah Khan Emma Kreuger sami.khan@biotek.lu.se emma.kreuger@biotek.lu.se Mohammad Mazlomi Betty Mbatia mohammad.mazlomi@ biotek.lu.se Valentine Nkemka valentine.nkemka@biotek.lu.se 26 zulma.perez@biotek.lu.se abolgashem.danesh@biotek. lu.se hector.guzman@biotek.lu.se tania.pozzo@biotek.lu.se Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 serena.bisagni@biotek.lu.se tarek.dishisha@biotek.lu.se alvaro.gutierrez@biotek.lu.se marlene.munoz@biotek.lu.se gustav.rehn@biotek.lu.se hugo.cavero@biotek.lu.se peter.falck@biotek.lu.se maria.jonstrup@biotek.lu.se cecilia.lindstrom@biotek.lu.se nges.ivo_achu@biotek.lu.se Roya Rezaei roya.rezaei@biotek.lu.se Neida Manrriquez Rios Fabian Rundbäck Ramin Sabet Julia Svensson fabian.rundback@biotek.lu.se ramin.sabet@biotek.lu.se Deepti Sahoo neida.rios@biotek.lu.se Kosin Teeparuksapun Thuy Tran Thi Kinga Zor Oksana Zaushitsyna Linda Önnby kosin.teeparuksapun@biotek.lu.se kinga.zor@analykem.lu.se julia.svensson@biotek.lu.se deepti.sahoo@biotek.lu.se oksana.zaushitsyna@biotek.lu.se linda.onnby@biotek.lu.se Visiting researchers and students Name University Country Alejandro Bravo Hermida Universidad de los Andes Colombia Ami Patel AAU, Anand India Andre Leistner Polymerics GmbH Germany Betti Kondor CLEA Technologies Holland Bruno Viguier Universite de Perpignan France Daniela Zehentgruber Research Centre Julich Germany Jana Schilling TU Braunschweig Germany Katarzyna Nuszkiewicz Uniwersytet Adama Mickiewicza Poland Lam Minh Duong Hanoi National University of Education Vietnam Lesedi Lebogang Botswana International University of Science and Technology Botswana Luca Rossoni University Bicocca di Milano Italy Marisa Punzi Universita Di Pavia Italy Natasha Birijlal Durban University of Technology, Durban South Africa Petra Gronemeyer TU Braunschweig Germany Sacha Taboza Vaz Durban University of Technology, Durban South Africa Sanaa Haroon Fayoum University Egypt Séverine Cozzi ENSCR France Shaaban Kassuwi University of Dar-Es-Salam Tanzania Shiva Shanker Kaki Indian Institute of Chemical Technology India Sindhu Mathew Kerala University India Stephanie Govender Durban University of Technology, Durban South Africa Tim Börner TU Braunschweig Germany Vasanthy Arasaratnam University of Jaffna Sri Lanka Vashni Gramany Durban University of Technology, Durban South Africa Wuraola Akande University of Brighton UK Xinmei Fu Southwest University of Science and Technology China Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 27 Funding and grants As many other departments and institutions at the university, the Department of Biotechnology is dependent on funding from external sources for carrying out the research. External funding accounted for 73% of the total income during 2010 while 18% was provided through faculty funding and 9% as educational contribution. The two largest external contributors were Vinnova and Mistra in the group of Public Authorities and Foundations respectively while Formas (The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning), SIDA (Swedish International Development Agency), the Swedish Research Council and the Swedish Energy Agency were other significant external contributors. During 2010 several EU-projects were initiated and generated an increase in EU-funding. The distribution of sources is shown below. Besides the funding included in the table to the right, several visiting scientists and PhD students were supported directly from external funding agencies. Source Faculty 8 705 Education 4 433 Research councils 7 530 Public authorities 6 780 Foundations 13 694 EU 2 377 Industry 3 282 Total Faculty; 18% Funds (kSEK) 49 533 Education; 9% Foundations; 21% Public authorities; 14% EU; 5% Industry; 7% Research councils; 28% 28 Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 Publications Journal articles During 2010, 39 research papers were published in peer reviewed journals and four PhD theses were published and defended. Scientific results were also presented at several conferences. For reprints of papers contact Siv Holmqvist, siv.holmqvist@biotek.lu.se. Adlercreutz D., Tufvesson P., Karlsson A.J., HattiKaul R. (2010) Alkanolamide biosurfactants: technoeconomic evaluation of enzymatic versus chemical production. Indust. Biotechnol. 6: 204-211 Gaber Y., Törnvall U., Orellana-Coca C., Amin M.A., Hatti-Kaul R. (2010) Enzymatic synthesis of alkanoyl-n-methyl glucamide surfactants: Solvent free production and environmental assessment. Green Chem. 12: 1817-1825 Gräber M., Andersson M., Rundbäck F., Nordberg Karlsson E., Adlercreutz P. (2010) A novel direct screening method for alkyl glucoside production by glucosidases expressed in E. coli in 96-well plates. J. Biotechnol. 145: 186-192 Grey C., Widén C., Adlercreutz P., Rumpunen K., Duan R-D. (2010) Antiproliferative effects of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) extracts on human colon and liver cancer cell lines. Food Chem. 120: 1004-1010 Gullfot F., Tan T-C., von Schantz L., Nordberg Karlsson E., Ohlin M., Brumer H., Divne C. (2010) The crystal structure of XG-34, an evolved xyloglucan-specific carbohydrate-binding module. Proteins: Struct. Funct. Bioinform. 78: 785-789 Guzman D., Quillaguaman J., Muñoz M., HattiKaul R. (2010) Halomonas andenense sp. nov., a moderate halophile isolated from the saline lake Laguna Colorada in Bolivia. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 60: 749-753 Hajizadeh S., Kirsebom H., Mattiasson B. (2010) Characterization of carbon- cryostructured particle macroporous gel for phenol removal. Soft Matter 6: 5562-5569 Hajizadeh S., Kirsebom H., Galaev I. Yu., Mattiasson B. (2010) Evaluation of selective composite cryogel for bromate removal from drinking water. J. Sep. Sci. 33: 1752-1759 Hatti-Kaul R. (2010) Biorefineries – a path to sustainability? Crop Sci. 50: S152-S156 Immerstrand T., Deraz S., Rosenqvist A., Paul C.J., Böök Mårtensson O., Ljungh Å., Blücher A., Öste R., Holst O., Nordberg Karlsson E. (2010) Characterization of the properties of Pediococcus parvulus for probiotic or protective culture use. J. Food Protect. 73: 960-966 Jonstrup M., Wärjerstam M., Murto M., Mattiasson B. (2010) Immobilisation of TiO2 for combined photocatalytic-biological azo dye degradation. Water Sci. Technol. 62(3): 525-531. Kirsebom H., Topgaard D., Galaev I. Yu., Mattiasson B. (2010) Modulating the porosity of cryogels by influencing the non-frozen liquid phase through addition of inert solutes. Langmuir 26(20): 16129–16133 Kirsebom H., Mattiasson B., Galaev I.Yu. (2010) Ultrafast responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) gel produced by cryostructuring of self-crosslinkable polymer microgels, Macromol. Rapid Commun. 31: 1095–1100 Kreuger E., Prade T., Escobar, F., Svensson, S.E., Björnsson, L. (2010) Anaerobic digestion of industrial hemp – Effect of harvest time on methane energy yield per hectare. Biomass Bioenergy 35: 893-900. Labib, M., Hedström, M., Amin, M., Mattiasson, B. (2010) A novel competitive capacitive glucose biosensor based on concanavalin A-labeled nano-gold colloids assembled on a polytyramine-modified gold electrode. Anal. Chim. Acta 5: 194-200. Labib, M., Hedström, M., Amin, M., Mattiasson, B. (2010) Competitive capacitive biosensing technique (CCBT): A novel technique for monitoring low molecular mass analytes using glucose assay as a model study. Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 397: 1217-1224. Lindahl S., Ekman A., Khan S., Wennerberg C., Börjesson P., Sjöberg P.J.R., Nordberg Karlsson E., Turner C. (2010) Exploring the possibilities to use a thermostable mutant of b–glucosidase for rapid hydrolysis of quercetin glucosides in hot water. Green Chem. 12: 159–168 Loyprasert S., Hedström M., Kanatharan P. Thavarungkul P., Mattiasson B. (2010) Ultrasensitive detection of cholera toxin using a label-free Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 29 capacitive immunosensor. Biosens. Bioelec. 25: 977983. tial and future prospects. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 85: 1687-1696 Mamo G,. Kasture S., Faryar R., Hashim S., HattiKaul R. (2010) Surfactants from xylan: Production of n-octyl xylosides using a highly thermostable xylanase from Thermotoga neapolitana. Process Biochem. 45: 700–705 Samuelsson E., Carlsson M.C., Osla V., HendusAltenburger R., Kahl Knutsson B., Öberg C.T., Sundin A., Nilsson R., Nordberg-Karlsson E., Nilsson U.J., Karlsson A., Rini J.M., Leffler H. (2010) Mutational tuning of galectin-3 specificity and biological function. J. Biol. Chem. 285: 3507-3509 Mattiasson B., Hedström M. (2010) Sampling and sample handling for process control. Encyclopedia of Industrial Biotechnology: Bioprocess, Bioseparation, and Cell Technology 2: 1–23. Mattiasson B., Teeparuksapun K., Hedström M. (2010) Immunochemical binding assays for detection and quantification of trace impurities in biotechnological production. Trends Biotechnol. 28: 20-27. Mazlomi M., Hedström M., Mattiasson B. (2010) Integrated set-up of sampling, sample treatment and assay of an intracellular protein during fermentation. J. Biotechnol., 150, 366-371. Mei J., Yu S., Ahrén B. (2010) Study on administration of 1,5-anhydro-Dfructose in C57BL/6J mice challenged with high-fat diet. BMC Endocrine Disorders 10:(17), 1-5. Mazzaferro L., Breccia J.D., Andersson M.M., Hitzmann B., Hatti-Kaul R. (2010) Polyethyleneimine-protein interactions and implications on protein stability. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 47: 15-20 Mbatia B., Adlercreutz D., Adlercreutz P., Mulaa F., Mattiasson B. (2010) Enzymatic oil extraction and positional analysis of w-3 fatty acids in Nile perch and salmon heads. Process Biochem. 45: 815-819 Mbatia B., Adlercreutz P., Mulaa F., Mattiasson B. (2010) Enzymatic enrichment of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in Nile perch (Lates niloticus) viscera oil. Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol. 112: 977-984 Nkemka V., Murto M. (2010) Evaluation of biogas production from seaweed in batch tests and in UASB reactors combined with the removal of heavy metals. J. Environ. Manag. 91: 1573-1579. Pozzo T., Linares Pasten J., Nordberg Karlsson E., Logan D.T. (2010) Structural and functional analysis of b–glucosidase 3B from Thermotoga neapolitana: a thermostable 3-domain representative of glycoside hydrolase family 3. J Mol.Biol. 397: 724-739 Quillaguamán J., Guzmán H., Van-Thuoc D., Hatti-Kaul R. (2010) Synthesis and production of polyhydroxyalkanoates by halophiles: current poten- 30 Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 Sánchez L.A., Hedström M., Delgado M.A., Delgado O.D. (2010) Production, purification and characterization of serraticin A, a novel cold-active antimicrobial produced by Serratia proteamaculans. 136. J. Appl. Microbiol. 109: 936–945. Sipos B., Kreuger E., Svensson S-E., Réczey K., Björnsson L., Zacchi G. (2010) Steam pretreatment of dry and ensiled industrial hemp for ethanol production. Biomass Bioenergy 34(12): 1721-1731 Svensson, J., Rosenquist A., Adlercreutz P., Nilsson Å., Ohlsson, L. (2010) Postprandial lipemic response to alpha-linolenic acid rich oil, butter, and olive oil. Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol. 112: 961-969 Teeparuksapun K., Hedström M., Wong EY., Tang S., Hewlett IK., Mattiasson B. (2010) Ultrasensitive detection of HIV-1 p24 antigen using nanofunctionalized surfaces in a capacitive immunosensor. Anal. Chem. 82: 8406 – 8411. Tran T.T., Mamo G., Mattiasson B., Hatti-Kaul R. (2010) A thermostable phytase from Bacillus sp. MD2: cloning, expression and high level production in Escherichia coli. J. Indust. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 37: 279-287 Törnvall, U. (2010) Pinpointing oxidative modifications in proteins – recent advances in analytical methods. Anal. Methods 2: 1638-1650 Törnvall U., Hedström M., Schillén K., Hatti-Kaul R. (2010) Structural, functional and chemical changes of Pseudozyma (Candida) antarctica lipase B on exposure to hydrogen peroxide. Biochimie 92:1867-1875 Van Thuoc D., Guzmán H., Hang M.T., Hatti-Kaul R. (2010) Ectoine production by Halomonas boliviensis: optimization using response surface methodology. Marine Biotechnol. 12: 586-593 Van Thuoc D., Guzmán H., Quillaguamán J., Hatti-Kaul R. (2010) High productivity of ectoines by Halomonas boliviensis using a combined two-step fed-batch culture and milking process. J. Biotechnol. 147: 46-51 newable Resources (M. Kjellin and I. Johansson, eds.), Wiley, pp. 145-165 Book chapters R. Hatti-Kaul (2010) Downstream processing in industrial biotechnology. In: Industrial Biotechnology. Sustainable Growth and Economic Success (W. Soetaert and E.J. Vandamme, eds.), Wiley-VCH, pp. 279-321 Nordberg Karlsson E., Johansson L., Holst O., Lidén G. (2010) Escherichia coli as a well-developed host for metabolic engineering In: The Metabolic Pathway Engineering Handbook-Fundamentals, CRC Press, Boca Raton (C. D. Smolke (ed.), P. Adlercreutz, R. Hatti-Kaul (2010) Synthesis of surfactants using enzymes. In: Surfactants from Re- Doctoral degrees and theses Harald Kirsebom Preparation and characterization of macroporous cryostructured materials Anna Hagström (Petersson) Lipase-catalysed synthesis of epoxides and ester Hector O. Guzmán Suarez Production of ectoines and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate): High cell-density cultivation of Halomonas boliviensis Thuy Thi Tran Thermostable phytase from a Bacillus sp. Heterologous production, mutation, characterization and assay development Harald Kirsebom is congratulated after defending his thesis in September 2010. Photo: Siv Holmqvist Thuy Thi Tran surrounded by the opponent, committee and her supervisors at her dissertation in December 2010. Photo: Siv Holmqvist Conferences Below are listed the national and international conferences attended by Biotechnology co-workers during 2010. • • • • • • • • • Biogas, Novozymes and LU Biofuels, Lund, Jan. Bio-based Chemicals Summit, San Diego, USA, Feb 8-10 Sveriges Energiting, Stockholm, Sverige, March 16 Biogas och betor, Betodlarna, Flyinge, March. Advances in biodetection technologies, Dublin, Ireland, May Vth International Bioengineering Congress, Izmir, Turkey, June 16-19 2nd Int. Symp. on Probiotic and Prebiotic as Functional Foods for Human Health promotion, Jakarta, Indonesia, Aug 4-5 BIOCAT 2010, Hamburg, Aug 29-Sept 2 14th International Biotechnology Symposium and Exhibition, Rimini, Italy, Sept 14-18 • • • • • • • • • 4th Symposium on the alpha-amylase family (ALAMY_4), Smolenice, Slovakia, Sept 26-30. International Symposium on Biopolymers, Stuttgart, Germany, Oct 3-7 Bioteknik och rötning av grödor, Avfall Sverige, Kristianstad, October. Industrial Biotechnology: a Platform for Sustainable Growth in Sweden, Lund, Nov 8-9 Zing’s Polymer Chemistry Conference, Puerto Morelos, Mexico, Nov 19 – 22 8th EuroFedLipid Congress, Munich, Nov 21-24 Detection Technologies, Arlington, USA, Nov. Int. Conf. on Traditional Foods, Pondicherry, India, Dec 1-3 Seminar at Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM), CSIC, Madrid, Spain, Dec 3 Photo last page: Center for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. Photo: Tarek Dishisha. Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010 31 Department of Biotechnology Center for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Lund University P.O. Box 124 SE-221 00 Lund SWEDEN www.biotek.lu.se Email addresses Personal addresses are constructed by name and surname as follows: name.surname@biotek.lu.se Annual report 2010 Publisher: Rajni Hatti-Kaul Editor: Maria Andersson 32 Dept. of Biotechnology Annual Report 2010