The Bioengineering Department was founded in 2007 by merging several IQS laboratories in the Life Science area and by joining new research groups. The Department is composed of 5 laboratories: Biochemistry, Biomaterials, Microbiology, Bioprocesses, and Tissue Engineering. Research areas combine basic and applied projects in biomedicine, industrial biotechnology, and food and environmental biotechnology.
The Department offers biology and biochemistry courses in the Chemistry Degree and Chemical Engineering Degree. Moreover, the Masters in Bioengineering as well as the PhD program in Bioengineering are coordinated by the Department. Additionally, the Department collaborates in the Masters programs of Food Chemistry and Engineering, and Chemistry and Engineering Research.
Research projects are in the areas of Life Sciences, Chemistry, Process Engineering and Bioprocesses, and Materials and Biomaterials
Biochemistry Laboratory
Protein engineering and enzymology of glycosidases and glycosyltranferases
Therapeutic targets in infectious diseases
Amyloidogenic proteins in neurodegenerative diseases
Biocatalysis: enzyme redesign, directed evolution of enzymes, and metabolic engineering
Metabolic Engineering for the production of glycoglycerolipids
Biomaterials Laboratory
Stimuli sensitive polymeric nanoparticles for drug delivery
Design of biomimetic surfaces with both chemical and mechanical signaling. Smart surfaces
Design and rapid manufacturing fabrication of scaffolds for bone and cartilage regeneration
Microbiology Laboratory
Mycotoxins and fungal producers
Microbiological aspects of the photodynamic therapy
Food and environmental safety
Bioprocess Laboratory
Recombinant protein and metabolite expression, bioprocess and bioreactors optimization
Industrial byproducts as a source for highly valuable biotechnological products
Industrial byproducts as a source for highly valuable biotechnological products
Tissue Engineering Laboratory
Design and synthesis of nanometric biomaterials analog to extracellular matrices
Development of instructive tri-dimensional environments for functional differentiation of stem cells
Environmental reprogramming of adult cells to develop regenerative medicine platforms
Impact of the haemodynamic environment in vascular cells functionality
