ACIB OECD Outlook on Industrial Biotechnology …Austrian Centre of Industrial Research trends Biotechnology • New molecular entities • Functional surfaces, nanomachines • New

1© Alois Jungbauer

ACIBAustrian Centre of Industrial

BiotechnologyOECD Outlook on Industrial Biotechnology

Alois JungbauerDepartment of Biotechnology

University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria

Austrian Center of Industrial Biotechnology

2© Alois Jungbauer


Biotechnology

Current trends

• Molecular level– Design of novel and artificial enzymes– Novel molecules

• Cellular level– Toolbox for industrial biotechnology– Metabolic engineering

• Process level– Process monitoring and control– Recovery processes

• Global level, sustainable– Environmental (energy, carbon, water)– Economical

3© Alois Jungbauer


BiotechnologyNovel molecules

• First principle design

• Going beyond nature– Halogenated compounds– Self cleaning surfaces – Fibers with functional

properties– …

Novel molecules

Chemical synthesis

Novel enzymes

4© Alois Jungbauer


BiotechnologyNovel molecules

• First principle design

• Going beyond nature– Halogenated compounds– Self cleaning surfaces – Fibers with functional

properties– …

Novel molecules

Chemical synthesis

Novel enzymes

Herman et al. Biotechnol. J. 2009, 4, 1441–1449

5© Alois Jungbauer


BiotechnologyAb inito design of new molecules

• By the use of machine learning techniques, physical and coarse grained force fields (Molecular Dynamic Simulation, Reverse Monte Carlo Simulation) 3D structures are recursively reconstructed.

6© Alois Jungbauer


BiotechnologyProtein engineering

• Screening of organisms

• Evolutionary methods• Rational and ab inito design

7© Alois Jungbauer


BiotechnologyCosts of sequencing

Bionanomatrix nanodevice

8© Alois Jungbauer


BiotechnologyCurrent trends

• Completed genome sequences and genome-scale models (GEMs) available to date.

9© Alois Jungbauer


Biotechnology

Applications of GEMs in industrial and medical biotechnology

10© Alois Jungbauer


Biotechnology



BiotechnologySynthetic biology

• The design and construction of new biological parts, device and systems

• The redesign of existing, natural biological systems for useful purposes



BiotechnologyResearch trends

• Currently research is not divided into industrial and medical biotechnology

• Basic tools for new industrial products and medicines



Biotechnology

Synthetic biology and patentable subject matter

• Is a synthetic organism that occurs in nature an invention?

• Mycobacterium genitalis smallest bacterium with 582970 nucleotides has been synthesized

• Is it a repeat of Chen and Boyers’s idea, but this time the plasmid will be a human construct?



BiotechnologyBioprocess Engineering

• Continuous vs. batch

• Process modeling and control

• Recovery

• Integrated processes

Innovation through new molecular entities and cells

Sustainabilitythrough engineered cell and process engieering



BiotechnologyRecovery the bottleneck

• Energy barrier to separate compounds from solution → change of chemical potential

• Heat, pressure, surface tension, pH, diffusion …

• Smart materials change of surface with light, acoustic wave, …



Biotechnology

DestillationPrecipitationCounter Current Fractionation

Ion Exchange Chromatography,Crystallization

Affinity SeparationsMolecular ImprintingMicromachinedSeparation UnitsMonosized Particles

1940 1960-70 1980 - today

Enthalpic SeparationMachines

Middle EntropicSeparation Machines

Highly EntropicSeparation Machines

ChromatographyActive transportNanomachines

E.Müller, ISPPP Forum 2008



BiotechnologyInbuilt functions for DSP

• Self assembly

• Solubility• Biorecognition

• Stability– Temperature– pH

Important: when trend towards extremely stable proteins realizes



BiotechnologyProcess control

Process control adds :

• Intelligence and in consequence

• Sustainability

Gernaey et al., Biotechnol. J. 2009, 4, 593–599



BiotechnologyMonitoring

• The real time monitor of physiological state of a cell in a bioreactor

• The real time monitor of a product in the effluent



BiotechnologyResearch trends

• New molecular entities• Functional surfaces, nanomachines• New and engineered cells• Fermentation processes

– Process control – Engineering and design

• Downstream processing– Engineering and design– New processes

• Evaluation of sustainability



BiotechnologySustainable?

Yield data from USDA, IRRI, and FAO.






BiotechnologySustainable




• Antifreeze,

Upis ceramboides



Biotechnology

From CO2 to C6H12O6

• Can we reverse the carbon cycle without plants? – Algae bioreactor ≈ 15% maximal efficiency– Algae farming

• Bacteria producing sugars from CO2?

• Bacteria producing H2 from C02 and water?



Biotechnology

From CO2 to C6H12O6

• Can we reverse the carbon cycle without plants? – Algae bioreactor ≈ 15% maximal efficiency– Algae farming

• Bacteria producing sugars from CO2.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jul/14/green-algae-exxon-mobil

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/oct/23/biofuels-energy



BiotechnologyBiothermodynamics

Von Stockar et al. 2006



BiotechnologyBiothermodynamics

Von Stockar et al. 2006



BiotechnologyOutlook

Specialty chemicals and materials

• New molecular entities• New functionalities

Bulk chemicals and biofuel

• Plant based raw material• Algae

• New synthetic organisms

Documents

ACIB OECD Outlook on Industrial Biotechnology …Austrian Centre of Industrial Research trends Biotechnology • New molecular entities • Functional surfaces, nanomachines • New