iBB

 "The Fundação Luso-Americana is launching a scientific award in the total amount of  800 thousand euros, for 3-4 years, to sponsor two structuring projects in science and technology."

Former iBB researchers Sofia Martins (PhD Biotechnology, IST 2008) and Verónica Romão (PhD Biotechnology, IST 2009) are currently leading the biological research at Magnomics, a biotech start-up committed to creating the new generation of molecular diagnostic devices, with applications in human health, veterinary health, and in the food industry. Sofia and Verónica partnered with Filipe Cardoso (INESC-MN), José Germano (INESC-ID) and João Miguel Pereira (UCoimbra) and launched Magnomics in 2013. After winning second place in INOVPORTUGAL 2014 (over 14000 participants) and having secured funding from Portugal Ventures, Beta Capital and PNV Capital, the company has just started operations in facilities located at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Magnomics core product is a fully portable, easy to use diagnostic device which includes sample treatment (bacteria separation and DNA purification), DNA amplification, and magnetic detection. The technology is protected by a growing pool of international patents and is currently being prototyped. The initial market tests are predicted for late 2015.

Tiago Dias, Ph. D. student in Biotechnology, has been shortlisted to present an oral lecture in the Malcolm Lilly Award session at the ESBES symposium, Lille 7-10th September. This prestigeous award is offered by the ESBES to a promising young scientist  working in the field of biochemical engineering  to honor Professor Malcolm Lilly, the founding father of Biochemical Engineering, Tiago, one of the 4 candidates selected, will have an opportunity to present the work he has developed at BERG under the supervison of Joaquim Cabral and Margarida Diogo with a communication entitled "Integrated Platform for Derivation and Enrichment of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes: Towards a Clinical Application".

For processes to be implemented on an industrial scale, high volumetric productivity and long term stability are required. In a paper recently published in Bioresource Technology, a team headed by Pedro Fernandes (BERG-IBB, IST, ULisboa) and Maria Henriques Ribeiro (iMed, Faculdade de Farmácia, ULisboa) presented a prototype enzyme reactor enabling the hydrolysis of naringin, a reaction that decreases the bitterness of grape juice and other citrus juices, while maintaining their organoleptic and anti-oxidant properties. The reactor operated continuously for over a month with no decrease in catalytic activity and a volumetric productivity of 7 mM/h, thus proving an appealing asset for the food processing industry.

Former iBB researcher Miguel Cardoso is currently leading MadeBiotech, a R&D company with headquarters in the Island of Madeira, Portugal. The activities of the company founded 3 years ago by Miguel are mainly focused on biotechnology and process engineering and his team of eight researchers is working to develop sustainable processes for the valorization of natural resources. The goal is to promote the concept of Sustainable Biorefinery for different types of biomass, using processes with low environmental impact and high technological content. One of MadeBiotech’s researchers, Maria João Paris is currently developing her Ph. D. project at the company under the supervision of Miguel Cardoso and Luís Fonseca from BERG-iBB. MadeBiotech is looking to establish new R&D collaborations with iBB that might foster its commercial activity.

In a recent paper published in Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, researchers from BERG-iBB, MIT, Institut Pasteur, Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal and University of New York unravel new genetic and environmental determinants that shape the transposition rate of type 2 insertion sequences (IS2). These were found to encompass asymmetries in target DNA composition, medium composition, growth-phase, and production scale. The importance of these findings is manifold, going from the design of safer DNA-based therapeutics to the ON/OFF regulation of synthetic genetic circuits. Click on title to learn more.

Photo: South Tower at IST, home of iBB labs. http://tecnico.ulisboa.pt/

Pyrimethanil is an anilinopyrimidine fungicide mostly applied in vineyards. When good agricultural practices (e.g. recommended doses or safety periods) are not followed, residue levels detected in grape must or in the environment may be of concern. In a paper published jointly with Jörg Becker from IGC in The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, BSRG researchers led by Cristina Viegas describe a transcriptomic study to identify molecular indicators of pyrimethanil toxicity and response in the eukaryotic model S. cerevisiae, while providing new mechanistic insights with possible relevance in wine yeasts, phytopathogenic fungi and/or non-target biota in ecosystems.

Photo: Crimson grapes, Bob. Nichols, USDA 2013, Public domain. 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crimson_seedless_grapes_on_the_vine.jpg?uselang=pt.

BSRG researchers have unveiled new targets for the anti-cancer protein azurin using a breast cancer model. In a paper published jointly with colleagues from IPATIMUP in The International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, the team led by Arsénio Fialho describes the use of DNA microarrays to understand the effects of azurin in invasive breast cancer cells overexpressing P-cadherin. The gene transcription data gathered shows that apoptosis is induced and endocytosis is up-regulated to mediate the controlled process of azurin entry in cells. A number of genes coding for membrane receptors frequently overexpressed in breast cancer are down-regulated, suggesting that these new targets could be exploited in the future. Click on title to learn more.

In a recent publication on the Journal of Physical Chemistry B, researchers from BERG-iBB, REQUIMTE/CQFB, Université Lille and Universidade de São Paulo disclose new insights into the conductivity properties of Ion Jelly®, a composite that results from the combination of gelatin with an ionic liquid. The conductivity properties were investigated by dielectric relaxation spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Besides the relevant information on the more fundamental nature and physicochemical details of the behavior of ionic liquids, the study opens new doorways for practical applications that use Ion Jelly® as a strategy to produce novel and stable electrolytes for different electrochemical devices.  

Prof. Gönül Schara from the Genetics and Bioengineering Department, Fatih University, Turkey will be visiting IST and BERG-IBB from the 9th to the 12th September. Gönül will be giving a workshop in Protein Bioengineering on the 10th (9-12 h) and 11th (9-12 h), room 5-LTI, 5th floor, Torre Sul. The following topics will be covered: Introduction to protein engineering and directed evolution. Protein structure modeling: Swiss Model and Pymol. Protein structure modeling: AutoDock. Furthermore, Gönül is interested in learning about the education activities carried out at IST and about the research being performed in the areas of Molecular Bioengineering. 

10th European Symposium on Biochemical Engineering Sciences and 6th International Forum on Industrial Bioprocesses
Lille, September 7-10, 2014, France