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This book covers polyextremophiles, the latest biotechnological advances, and developments in the study of extremophilic diversity with a focus on genetics, proteomics and the impact of climate change. It sets out new perspectives on the polyextremophiles'mechanism of tolerance to extreme conditions, and it also outlines their applications in bioremediation, therapeutics, and astrobiology research. Expert contributors discuss topics such as genes associated with polyextremophiles, the applications of genome editing in extremophiles, secondary metabolites from extremophiles, and the biocatalytic potential of extemozymes isolated from extremophiles. Readers will find in this book several case studies that collate the diverse applications of polyextremophiles for bioremediation, including the use of extremophilic algae in wastewater treatment, nutrient recovery and animal feed production, the treatment of industrial waste, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, and the removal of microplastics, heavy metals and E-waste. Particular attention is given to the use of polyextremophiles for bioremediation of abandoned mining sites. The book also presents bioactive compounds from halophiles and their biomedical applications and discusses the implications of polyextremophiles in astrobiology research. Given its breadth, this book is a valuable contribution to the biotechnology of polyextremophiles by overviewing research to date and exploring challenges and opportunities for future research. It also benefits a broad readership, from scholars, researchers and students to industry professionals interested in the study and development of biotechnological applications of polyextremophiles.

Biochemistry is concerned with the chemical processes that occur within living organisms and microorganisms. There have been a number of publications focusing on biochemistry and its use for understanding biochemical and molecular mechanisms, with the majority of the literature focusing on bench scale items. To date there has not been a comprehensive work focusing on the techno-economic and industrial aspects of biochemistry from the microeconomic and pilot scales. This text covers current innovations and advances in plant biochemistry, animal biochemistry, microbial biochemistry and medicinal biochemistry plus potential uses of proteomics, genomics, recombinant DNA technology and protein application. Recent Advances in Industrial Biochemistry focuses on methods for recombinant proteins production and purification plus metabolic engineering and other source technologies from the industrial viewpoint, providing comprehensive, up-to-date information and evidence on contemporary development in the field of industrial biochemistry. The major focus of this book is the key issues, opportunities, approaches, advancements, products, innovations and technologies in current biochemistry from micro scale to production at pilot scale. Chapters highlight the many potential commercial prospects in various industries from food to to pharmaceuticals to bioenergy, providing a valuable and unique single resource for researchers.

This book reviews the latest developments and applications in the field of biosensing, providing readers with an update of the earlier, successful edition, Biosensing for the 21st Century. In this book, readers will find comprehensive key information on the advances and challenges in biorecognition elements and transduction principles, including examples of new materials and new methods. Ranging from engineering chimeric enzymes to the progress in electrochemical sensing of drugs, the book discusses the latest innovations in the field and thus, provides the reader with a profound overview. In the field of biological recognition the focus will be on switchable sensors by engineering new proteins, the development of Molecular Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) for proteins or even larger biological entities, the construction of complex nucleic acid – protein structures for affinity sensing and the application of whole microbes. The book covers new trends in signal transduction which includes graphene-based field effect transistors, nanopores designed for high selectivity and sensitivity in analysis, plasmonic and nanophotonic sensing applying metal nanostructures up to new developments in microarray construction. An introduction in to the challenges in skin-interfaced systems for continuous biochemical sensing, offers a glimpse into the future of wearable technologies. Furthermore, actual areas of application of new sensing strategies such as the detection of various types of viruses and bacteria or the analysis of drugs will be highlighted. Each chapter provides a scholarly yet accessible perspective on the latest trends in biosensor technology. Given its breadth, the book has an interdisciplinary appeal and engages a wide readership, from students and researchers to practitioners in academia and industry, interested in the fields of biochemical/biomedical engineering and in biosensing methodologies and applications.

This book provides an up-to-date overview of the biological functions of melanins, their biotechnological production, and their industrial applications. The melanins form a group of polymeric pigments found in most organisms. These natural products are generated by the oxidation of phenolic and indolic molecules yielding melanins, which include eumelanin, pheomelanin, pyomelanin, and the allomelanins. These pigments have diverse biological functions, including photoprotection, thermoregulation, antioxidation, virulence, and metal ion sequestration. Melanins have physicochemical properties that have proven useful in the optical, electronic, material, agriculture, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and medical industries. The chapters in this book provide an in-depth analysis of the current issues and challenges in this field. Topics covered include the properties, biogenesis, and evolution of melanosomes. The book also addresses the synthesis and industrial production of melanins by microorganisms. The metabolic pathways for the synthesis of several types of polymeric pigments in microorganisms and their role in pathogenesis are reviewed. The large-scale production and purification of melanins to provide this product for industrial applications is a formidable challenge. Two chapters present and discuss the state-of-the-art used for the generation of microbial melanin-production strains and the processes for the biotechnological synthesis and purification of these pigments. Melanins are polymers that can interact with metals, a chapter reviews this capacity in the context of technological applications, including electrochemical energy storage and metal recovery. These polymers are materials having favorable characteristics for photonic applications, including UV blocking and broadband absorption. The current advances in the application of these pigments in optically active materials are presented and discussed.

This book deals with analytical techniques and methods applied in several sectors of technology and industry and serves as a concise and up-to-date reference for the practical application of analytical chemistry. Divided into 10 chapters, the book starts with an introduction to the fundamentals of analytical chemistry, followed by a review of modern analytical technologies and their application in different industrial sectors and activities such as agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals, ores and mining, polymers, biotechnology, and oil & gas. Particular attention is given to industrial environmental issues, where the author discusses the advanced analytical techniques used to provide quantitative information about pollutants in aqueous and gaseous effluents and their carbon footprint. The book finishes with a chapter summarizing the main remarks and conclusions on advanced analytical techniques used in different industrial sectors, as well as on topics of sustainability, and instrumental analysis. In this book, readers will find valuable insights, including real-life examples, of how classical and instrumental techniques can be used by industry, to help professionals in the quality control of raw materials, products and processes, in the assessment of the formulation contamination, environmental pollution and in the evaluation of sustainability, among others. Given its breadth, the book appeals to professionals (mainly chemists, biochemists, and engineers), researchers, professors, and graduate students.

This book offers a comprehensive review of the latest developments in medicinal mushroom biochemical engineering and biotechnology, and it also analyses the circular economy of mushroom bioproduction. Divided into 13 chapters, the book begins with a historical perspective of medicinal mushrooms, followed by authoritative chapters that explore the farming of medicinal mushrooms and bioeconomy, as well as the limitations of using medicinal mushrooms to produce metabolites. Subsequent chapters cover topics such as solid-state and submerged cultivation of medicinal mushroom mycelia in bioreactors, pilot and industrial bioreactor cultivation experiences, downstream processing of medicinal mushroom products, and biochemistry of medicinal mushroom bioactive compounds. Particular attention is given to the recent genetic engineering techniques applied in mushroom cultivation. The book closes with a chapter devoted to the health and clinical benefits of medicinal fungi, where readerswill find expert insights into the therapeutic implications of medicinal fungi. In this book, readers will find an authoritative perspective on the past, present and future of medicinal mushrooms, and will also learn about some recent clinical studies with isolates from these natural products. Given its breadth, this book will appeal to biotechnologists working in mushroom cultivation, as well as to professionals interested in traditional pharmacy and medicine.

Living organisms are distinguished by their chemical basis. Thus, knowledge of the properties of the elements and the interactions of the resulting compounds is a prerequisite for understanding biology.Chemistry answers the questions of why, among the more than 100 elements of the periodic table (PSE), carbon and not silicon is the dominant element in biology and why precious metals, such as gold and silver, do not play a role. The PSE provides information about why phosphoric acid and not sulfuric acid acts as a bridge in polynucleic acids and why DNA had to evolve from RNA. At the same time, only chemistry makes clear why D-glucose is so central in building biopolymers such as cellulose and glycogen, and why the citrate cycle is logically self-contained and without alternative. Biochemistry is also a synthesis chemistry that differs from'man-made'synthesis chemistry'only'in terms of the framework conditions. Individuals are selected from the multitude of elements of the PSE and the almost infinite number of chemical compounds. The selection is based on the environmental conditions on Earth, such as moderate temperatures, preferably atmospheric pressure, solvent water and as primary reaction partner oxygen.The hypothesis is developed that the guiding principle of modern biology, the theory of evolution, has its roots in the underlying chemistry. This turns Darwinism from its biological head to its chemical feet. For example, the effect of phenols as radical scavengers is a priori chemical, before biological phenomena could evolve from it as differences in distinction in colored flowering plants. The book develops a completely new, chemistry-centered view of'animate nature'and challenges a changed, biologically oriented didactics of chemistry in schools and universities.

The book is aimed at providing an exposure to some important topics which are generally not covered adequately in formal courses in biotechnology. It informs the readers about: How micro-fluidics are proving useful in enzyme kinetics. Chemi-proteomics; combinatorial chemistry and high-throughput screening in the context of drug discovery. How enzymes can be used with gaseous substrates? How to source more robust enzymes from marine resources for diverse applications? Why some nano-materials can be chiral? Synthesis of diverse quantum dots as powerful fluorescent probes in biology. How basics of surface chemistry and immunology are vital in dealing with endemics/pandemics like Covid-19.

This book follows up the debate on the future of science and technology at the Curious2022 – Future Insight Conference, the second event in this conference series initiated on the occasion of Merck's 350th anniversary. In the chapters, some of the world's top scientists, managers and entrepreneurs explore breakthrough technologies and how they can be applied to make a better world for humanity. The book begins with an introduction to the vision of the conference “United by science for a better tomorrow” and the impacts caused by the pandemic, highlighting the importance of gathering like-minded people to discuss and support the advancement of science and technology for the benefit of humanity. In the first part of the book, readers will also find a chapter written by the Executive Board of Merck KGaA discussing the importance of curiosity for innovation and an overview of the company's contribution in the areas of life sciences, healthcare andelectronics forward-moving the scientific discovery. The second part of the book offers insights of some of the scientific topics discussed at the conference, and particular attention is given to new therapies and sustainability. In the final part of the book, readers will find some thoughts on ethical principles guiding our application of science and technology to create a bright future for humanity, and diverse perspectives on topics such as health, life sciences, nutrition, material sciences, digitalization, AI, energy, mobility, space flight, robotics, the secrets of the human mind and new ways of working together. Given its interdisciplinary appeal, the book will inspire curiosity in a wide readership, from scholars and researchers to professionals with an interest in exploring the future of science and technology, solving the problems of today, and paving the way for a better tomorrow. Chapters “From a 350th Anniversary to a Global Movement: United by Science for a Better Tomorrow” and “ Advancing Human Progress as a Twenty-First-Century Science and Technology Pioneer” are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This book provides a comprehensive and authoritative review of cyanobacteria and their applications as solar cell factories. Cyanobacteria are able to perform oxygenic photosynthesis and they are utilized in many different bioprocesses. The book covers two major aspects of a cyano-based bioprocess: the biological whole-cell catalyst and the technical environment in which the catalyst is applied. In the biocatalyst itself electron and carbon flow play an essential role for the performance of the cell and need to be tackled likewise for successful biocatalyst development. In the first chapters of this volume, cyanobacterial biotechnology and the fundamentals of cyanobacterial bioenergetics are introduced followed by an overview on tools and strategies for cyanobacteria engineering. Further on, examples of applications, engineering and production of different industrially relevant compounds in these organisms are provided, and finally process technology specific for cyanobacteria is covered. In this book, particular attention is given to topics such as cyanobacterial bioenergetics, metabolic engineering design strategies, utilizing cyanobacteria in biophotovoltaics, and production of pigments as well as photobiohydrogen in cyanobacteria, among others. This book will provide interested students and researchers in the area of photo-biotechnology with a deeper understanding of the cyanobacterial cell-factory, including the latest innovations and persistent challenges in the field.

The last two decades of scientific research have progressed to the point where metabolic engineering, which involves the modifying of metabolic pathways of animals, plants, and bacterial cells at biochemical and molecular levels, is feasible. Conceptually, metabolic engineering takes into account the identification of major blocks or control points in a metabolic pathway at the molecular level followed by removal of these limitations with the help of various cellular engineering interventions. Understanding the metabolic pathways requires appropriate experiment setup, molecular biology and biochemistry methods, computational modelling, data analysis, and interpretation to allow the researchers to manipulate them as per their needs. This book comprises a total of 12 chapters from multiple contributors of different countries around the world, including Brazil, Egypt, India, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. This book provides deep insight into the past, present, and future of metabolic engineering in the animal, microbial, and plant system, communicating interdisciplinary research and relevant results in biochemistry, molecular biology, applied microbiology, cellular physiology, cellular nutrition in health and disease, and biochemical engineering.