Overview

This scientific area aims at the development of biological processes to obtain value-added products with po- tential applications in key areas such as the pharmaceutical, food, cosmetics and fine chemicals as well as in biofuels production and processing effluent and pollution control. This area covers the Biological Technologies, including Biocatalysis, Fermentation, Biological Reactors, Process Separation and Purification of Biomolecules, Monitoring and Control of Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering. One of the areas of greatest impact and a main point of focus at IST is the production, purification and stabilization of proteins/enzymes and the “design” of improved bioconversion processes of substrates and waste to obtain compounds with high added value.

The Bioprocess and Biomolecular Engineering is divided in the subareas of:

Biomolecular Engineering: engineering of proteins, nucleic acids engineering, enzyme engineering, biocatalysis and biotransformations, biomolecular recognition.

Bioprocess Engineering: bioreactor, bioseparation and purification processes, project engineering, biosystems engineering, pharmaceutical engineering, food engineering, bioenergy, environmental biotechnology.

The Biomolecular and Bioprocess Engineering scientific area is deeply involved in the undergraduate formation in Biotechnology and Biological Engineering, as well as in advanced doctoral and postdoctoral training in the field. Students, at all levels, do have the opportunity to actively participate in research training in the laboratories of the BioEngineering Research Group of the Institute of Biotechnology and Bioengineering (IBB), Centre for Biological and Chemical Engineering at IST.