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ePaper created 2014-05-07, 13:23:14 | version 1.30.01
MOLECULAR BIOTECHNOLOGY The Molecular Biotechnology Department focuses on work in the fields of pharmaceutical biotechnology, diagnostics and chemistry. Thus, for instance, we use our know-how for the functional genome analysis of pathogens (infection biol- ogy) in order to develop new approaches for the screening of anti-infectives. We develop new diagnostic methods based on nucleic acid technologies (diagnostic microarrays and next generation sequencing based diagnostics) or by means of cell- based assays, e.g. for a cell-based pyrogen assay. A further focus is the development of production strains or cell lines for industrial and pharmaceutical biotechnology. In the past, we have developed production processes for pharmaceutical pro- teins such as interferons and factor VII as well as for chemical products such as biosurfactants and dicarboxylic acids. Our work extends from the metabolic engineering of production strains to the development of integrated bioprocesses for effective downstream processing. In addition to microorgan- isms, we also focus on enzymes as a key to render sustainable raw materials available for biotechnological processes as well as for the enzymatic synthesis of chemicals (e.g. epoxides from fatty acids). The core competences of the department lie in the application of molecular-biological and biotechnological methods for ge- nomics, transcriptomics and proteomics. A further asset is our accredited analytics, which can also be used for metabolome analyses. Metabolic engineering for strain development, inte- grated in a bioprocess and focused on simplified product puri- fication, is a central competence for both microbial production processes and for the production of pharmaceutical proteins from mammalian cell lines. In infection biology, the combi- nation of methods of functional genome analysis with our expertise in cell culture technology and biology of pathogens gives us a unique selling point in the development of infection models and diagnostics. Our goal is to use nature’s toolbox to create biotechnological value chains and to develop new diagnostics and therapeutics. The new technologies in genome and proteome analysis, for example, allow comprehensive analysis of entire microbial communities or of the interaction between microorganisms and the human individual in the shortest of times. This en- ables the identification of the impact of microbiota on human health – both via host-pathogen interactions and in synergistic form (probiotics). The malignant transformation of the body’s normal cells can also be investigated. Using this information, measures for specific treatments for individual groups of the population can be applied. Thus personalized medicine may become reality. In industrial biotechnology, too, the quick availability of genomes and the analysis of cellular circuits make it possible to identify and optimize new metabolic path- ways, which can then be ideally exploited for the production of chemicals or proteins. Using these competences, the Molecular Biotechnology Department in cooperation with other departments of the Fraunhofer IGB, is active in the business areas of medicine, pharmacy and chemistry. In the field of biocatalysis we work closely with the BioCat Project Group based in Straubing, while we collaborate with the project group at the Fraunhofer CBP in Leuna to develop our laboratory-scale bioprocesses up to 10 m3 scale. We also cooperate with the Fraunhofer Insti- tute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM on devel- oping processes for manufacturing pharmaceutical proteins, up to GMP-compliant production of biologicals for clinical phases of pharmaceutical development. COMPETENCES 50