Institute of Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology (IIEB)

 

Director: Dr. Saeed Aminzadeh

 

The Institute of Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology was established in April 2014 as one of the three sub-institutes of the National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB). Formerly, it was acting as two research departments of “Molecular Genetics” and “Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology”.  The institute enjoys the active scientific collaboration of twenty two faculty members and 5 research assistants.

The scientific activities of the institute have been concentrated on three research groups:

• Bioprocess engineering
• Systems biotechnology
• Environmental and energy biotechnology

The institute has an animated role in training specialists by admitting guest students of the universities all over the country, holding training courses, and conducting Master’s or Ph.D. theses in the fields of microbial biotechnology and industrial and environmental biotechnology. The faculty members of this institute are having an attempt to solve the problems of industrial and environmental biotechnology and meet the demands of the country through conducting several related projects.

 

Fields of Research

 

Bioprocess Engineering Research Group

 

• Synthesis of bio-natural and recombinant products as well as planning bioprocesses required by agricultural and medical industry through utilizing natural and transgenic living beings
• Conducting research on making models, designing, cloning, improving, integrating, and developing the processes of bio products synthesis
• Running developmental researches (R&D) to solve the existing problems, increasing the efficiency, decreasing the costs, and improving the quality of bio products
• Conducting researches in the field of developing cell masses to be utilized in the industries of agriculture, medicine, etc.
• Nano-biotechnology (planning, synthesis, and utilizing nano particles in biotechnology)

 

 

Systems Biotechnology Research Group

 

• Fundamental, developmental, and applied researches in bioinformatics and systems biology
• Developing recombinant lineage or increasing the potentials of micro-organisms utilized in agricultural, mine, petroleum, environmental and energy industries based on system perception using the methods of genetic engineering, protein and metabolic engineering, genomics, metabolomics and proteomics
• Improving proteins structure in order to be applied in industry, medicine, medication by using innovative methods of bioinformatics and systems biology
• Software modeling, planning and synthesis of new proteins with high efficiency in biotechnological processes

 

 

Energy and Environmental Biotechnology Research Group

 

• Separating, identifying, and utilizing natural and recombinant micro-organisms and bio processes in eliminating environmental pollutants (Bioremediation)
• Designing and developing systems and equipments for bio-filtering
• Using living beings and bio-processing of them to refine industrial, agricultural and health related sewages
• Producing cell masses to be used in bio fuels and bio filtration

 

 

Present Orientation of the Institute to Achieve Technical Knowledge

onsidering the priorities of the country in the fields of health, food security, and environmental conservation, the major orientation of this institute is conducting researches on bioseperation, enzyme biotechnology, food and medication as well as petroleum and energy biotechnology. Some research activities of the institute at the levels of pilot and laboratory with the aim of being transformed to technical knowledge are cited below:

 

1. Developing the medicinal proteins production
2. Developing the procedure of industrial enzymes synthesis (protease, lipase, chitinase, cellulose, etc.)
3. Synthesis of rhamnolipid bio surfactant by using the residue of bio processes
4. Production of biodiesel extracted from renewable resources
5. Using Iranian microbium genetic resources in biotechnological processes

 

Human Resources

Full Professors: 1
Associate Professors: 11
Assistant Professors: 8
Research Assistants: 3
Post-graduate Students (M.Sc. and Ph.D.): 67