11th International Conference
on Fiber & Polymer Biotechnology
The 11th International Conference on Fiber and Polymer Biotechnology (IFPB 2022) will be held from 13th to 15th November 2022 in Graz, Austria, within ESIB.
Starting more the 20 years ago in 2000 with the first congress of this series, – biotechnology related to fibre and polymer processing is an area with strongly growing scientific and industrial interest. Biotechnology and Enzyme-technology play an important role ranging over all steps of the value chain from biopolymer production and synthesis, functionalization & processing to novel approaches for recycling.
Thereby, modern technologies of biotechnology (e.g. enzyme/metabolic engineering) play an essential role towards a transition of fibre and textile industries within a circular bioeconomy.
Scientific Committee:
Georg Guebitz, Boku-Vienna, Austria
Artur Cavaco-Paulo, University of Minho, Portugal
Jinsong Shen, De Montfort University, UK
Vincent Nierstrasz, University Boras, Sweden
Giovanni Sannia, University of Napoli, Italy
Gianluca Ciardelli, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
Manfred Zinn, HES-SO Valais, Switzerland
Jian Chen, University Jiangnan, Wuxi, China
Kenzo Koike, Kao Corporation, Tokyo, Japan
Wierckx, Nick, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Gemany
Pellis, Alessandro, Università degli Studi di Genova, Italy
Topics of interest:
- Novel biocatalysts for specific applications
- Robust enzymes for polymer and textile bioprocessing
- Extremozymes
- Emerging natural
- Genetic engineered
- Biomass/fermentation-derived polymers and fibers
- Biodegradable polymers
- Self-assembling polymers
- Functionalization of (bio)polymers Renewable sources of polymers and chemicals
- Valorization of waste materials
- Bio-based monomers
- Surface modification
- Functionalization of synthetic polymers and fibers through biocatalysis
- Biologically active surfaces and interfaces
- Bio-catalytic process design
- Upscaling of bioprocesses to industrial level
- Combination of biotechnological, chemical and physical processes
- Low health and environmental impact processes
- Textile bioprocessing
- Wastewater treatment (bio-adsorption/biodegradation)
- Immobilization/incorporation of enzymes into nanostructured materials
- Applications (proteomics, biofuel cells, antifouling, bioconversion, biosensing, bioremediation)
- Bio-inspired, bio-mimicking approaches to material design Nanostructured materials (particles, fibers, etc.)
- Regenerative medicine
- Drug/actives encapsulation and delivery
- Cosmetics
- Detergency
Monday
14th November 2022
 | 10:15 – 10:25 | IFPB OpeningGeorg Guebitz (BOKU) |
Biobased polymers and fibres:To tackle the world's plastic problem, bio-based polymers are the future. Many microbes are capable of producing biopolymers. How can we use such microorganisms as cell factories for production? Are polyhydroxyalkanoates (naturally occurring, biodegradable polyesters) the future of biopolymers? And where can we find aminopolysaccharides and aminopolysaccharide-glucan complexes?Chair: Georg Guebitz |
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| 10:25 – 10:55 | Microbial Cell factories for the production of novel bacterial polymersM. Auxiliadora Prieto (Spanish National Research Council) |
| 10:55 – 11:15 | Polyhydroxyalkanoates, a dream come true?Iolanda Corrado (University of Napoli "Federico II") |
| 11:15 – 11:35 | Novel fungal source of aminopolysaccharides and aminopolysaccharide-glucans complexesSimona Dzurendova (Norwegian University Of Life Sciences) |
| 11:35 – 11:45 | General discussion |
 | 11:45 – 12:30 | Registration Reception & Lunch |
Biorecycling & Sustainable ProcessesOnce the plastics are no longer used, it is difficult to recycle them. Some recycling strategies will be presented in this session: depolymerization of PET by a thermotolerant enzyme scaffold or the use of the metagenomic polyester hydrolase PHL7, engineered metabolism in Pseudomonas taiwanensis, and enzymes for energy conservation in refining or recycling cellulose fibers. But how are these recycling strategies compatible with industry requirements for hyper-stable protein design? And how can we effectively use resources for functional and smart textiles?Chair: Vincent Nierstrasz |
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| 12:30 – 13:00 | Sourcing thermotolerant enzyme scaffolds for depolymerisation of PETJohn Mcgeehan (World Plastics Summit) |
| 13:00 – 13:20 | Engineering metabolism of plastic monomer 1,4-butanediol in an aromatics producing Pseudomonas taiwanensisLeonie Op De Hipt (Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH) |
| 13:20 – 13:40 | Low Carbon Footprint Recycling of Post-Consumer PET with the Metagenomic Polyester Hydrolase PHL7Paula Blázquez-Sánchez (University of Leipzig) |
| 13:40 – 13:55 | Meeting the industry’s needs: hyperstable protein designEzequiel Juritz (Enantis s.r.o.) |
| 13:55 – 14:10 | Mechanistic study of enzymes used for energy saving in refining or recycling of cellulose fibersMartin Nagl (BOKU Wien) |
| 14:10 – 14:30 | Resource effective textile processes for functional and smart textiles.Vincent Nierstrasz (University of Borås) |
 | 14:30 – 15:00 | Coffee Break |
Enzymatic decomposition of plasticsWorldwide, the plastic production and its use are accelerating and they are becoming one of the most discussed issues in the media and in different research sectors. In 2017, more than 27.1 million tonnes of plastic waste were produced in the EU with only 31.1 % being recycled, the residual 41.6 % were incinerated and 27.3 % landfilled. Conventional recycling still have some caveats regarding the complete separation of all the components, e.g. for multilayer and plastic mixes, thus not allowing to retrieve highly pure materials. Microbial and/or highly specific enzymatic processes are promising strategies in order to step-wise recover monomers from blended and multi-layer materials and/or for their bio-degradation. |
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| 15:00 – 15:15 | Enzymatic treatment of non-recycled plastic fractionsJuan Antonio Tamayo Ramos (ITENE; ENZYCLE Coordinator) |
| 15:15 – 15:30 | Development of an enzymatic degradation process for thermoset material recyclingJulio Vidal (AITIIP/BIZENTE) |
| 15:30 – 15:45 | Introduction of sustainable circular economy into fast fashion: Biotechnological approaches for textile waste recyclingFelice Quartinello (acib/BOKU) |
| 15:45 – 16:00 | Biotech synergies to solve plastic recycling and contamination challengesMaria J Lopez (RECOVER coordinator) |
| 16:00 – 16:20 | The BioICEP project: Combination of physico-chemical pretreatments with biological depolymerization to recycle mixed plastic waste.Pablo Ferrero (AIMPLAS) |
| 16:20 – 16:30 | General discussion |
| 16:30 – 17:00 | Coffee Break |
The plastics biorefineryDecomposition of plastics will lead to valuable building blocks which can e.g. be used for re-synthesis of polymers or as substrates for bioproduction. In the latter case, recent advances involve the engineering of microorganisms to use pure or mixed monomers as substrates to produce biopolymers or platform molecules. Such plastics biorefineries will ultimately help to close the plastics-cycle. |
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| 17:00 – 17:20 | Contribution of fermentation technology to a more sustainable plastic sector – the plastic biorefineryCristiano Varrone (UPLIFT) |
| 17:20 – 17:40 | Applying ligninases to resolve end-of-life issues of thermoset composite plasticsBeatrice Mongili (Biosphere, BIZENTE) |
| 17:40 – 18:00 | Development of enzymatic depolymerization-based processes to recycle plastic waste streams in ENZYCLETom Ewing (Wageningen University and Research, ENZYCLE) |
| 18:00 – 18:20 | Potential application of electrospinning/electrospray in Bahareh Azimi (Pisa University, RECOVER) |
| 18:20 – 18:30 | General discussion |
| 20:30 | Gala Academia Dinner (Schloßberg) |
Tuesday
15th November 2022
BiofunctionalisationThis session will focus on the modification of materials by microorganisms and their enzymes: e.g., innovative surface modification by fungal hydrophobins, inkjet printing of enzymes onto synthetic fabrics, and the use of laccase to crosslink proteins. How can crystallin fusion proteins improve the thermal properties of hair? Can we catalytically activate functional textiles to remove pharmaceutical residues from wastewater? And which microbiome and metabolome is already present on clothing textiles?Chair: Gianluca Ciardelli |
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| 9:00 – 9:30 | The microbiome and metabolome present on clothing textilesChris Callewaert (Ghent University) |
| 9:30 – 9:50 | Innovative surface modification by fungal hydrophobins and their chimeric variantsAlessandra Piscitelli (University of Naples Federico II) |
| 9:50 – 10:05 | Inkjet printing of enzymes on synthetic fabricsTuser Biswas (University of Borås) |
| 10:05 – 10:20 | Insights on the hair structure under different drying conditionsMadalena Martins (CEB - University of Minho) |
| 10:20 – 10:35 | Removal of pharmaceutical residue from wastewater using catalytically active functional textilesMohammad Neaz (Morshed University of Borås ) |
| 10:35 – 10:50 | Crosslinking of proteins with laccases: implications for fibre modificationCarla Pereira Marinho Silva (University of Minho) |
| 10:50 – 11:00 | General Discussion |
| 11:00 – 11:15 | Coffee Break |
| 11:15 – 12:00 | Science Flash (3min talks, together with esib)Solvent-free nanoparticles synthesis for encapsulation of water-soluble compoundsCarlotta Mattioda (Politecnico Di Torino) Response to perspiration from functional textiles incorporating protein/fragrances complex Filipa Gonçalves (Solfarcos) Fusion proteins with chromogenic and keratin binding modules Ana Tinoco (Solfarcos) |
| 12:00 – 13:30 | Lunch |
Nano/Bio-materials and ApplicationsThe areas of application for nanomaterials and biomaterials are diverse: In medicine, nanomaterials and biomaterials are used, for example, in tissue engineering and organ modeling or for patient-specific drug-releasing patches and the treatment of chronic wounds. Another area is the antibacterial activity of nanomaterials and biomaterials. Upscaling and preparation of market applications can be facilitated by the Open Innovation Test Bed on Bio-based Nanomaterials, presented as the BIOMAC project.Chair: Gianluca Ciardelli (Politecnico Di Torino) |
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| 13:30 – 14:00 | Collagen-derived biomaterials in tissue engineering and organ modellingGianluca Ciardelli (Politecnico Di Torino) |
| 14:00 – 14:20 | Antimicrobial and antifouling nano-enabled hydrogel coating built on urinary catheters using a bottom up enzymatic approachAntonio J Puertas Segura (Universitat Politècnica De Catalunya) |
| 14:20 – 14:40 | The BIOMAC Project – Access to a European Open Innovation Test Bed on Bio-based NanomaterialsAnnika Frank (IBB Netzwerk GmbH) |
| 14:40 – 15:00 | Dual-function nanoparticles enzymatically conjugated with a custom-made polyurethane hydrogel for chronic wound treatmentGiulia Crivello (Politecnico Di Torino) |
| 15:00 – 15:15 | Development of a recombinant silk-elastin/essential oil biocomposite with antibacterial activityAndré Da Costa (SOLFARCOS) |
| 15:15 – 15:30 | Green approaches to develop patient-specific drug-releasing patches for chronic wound treatmentRossella Laurano (Politecnico Di Torino) |
| 15:30 – 16:00 | Coffee Break |
Bio-based PolymersWhich building blocks are used for bio-based polymers? And how are they produced? The use and production of glycopolymers, polyhydroxyalkanaotes, exopolysaccharides from Rhodotorula yeasts, and Cyanoflan (a marine cyanobacterial polymer) are introduced. In addition, examples such as value-added produucts of lignin by enzymatic processes and the use of recombinant protein polymers for antimicrobial materials will be presented.Chair: Artur Cavaco-Paulo |
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| 16:00 – 16:20 | Building blocks of polyhydroxyalkanaotesManfred Zinn (University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland) |
| 16:20 – 16:35 | Production of high-value exopolysaccharides by Rhodotorula yeasts using sustainable feedstockDana Byrtusova (Norwegian University of Life Sciences) |
| 16:35 – 16:50 | Creation of antimicrobial materials using recombinant protein polymersAndré Da Costa (SOLFARCOS) |
| 16:50 – 17:05 | Enzyme based processes for value-added products from ligninsRenate Weiss (BOKU) |
| 17:05 – 17:20 | Cyanoflan: a marine cyanobacterial polymer for skin well-beingRita Mota (acib GmbH) |
| 17:20 – 17:35 | Sucrose bioconversion in high-added value alpha-glucans using engineered bacterial enzymesClaire Moulis (Toulouse Biotechnology Institute) |
| 17:35 – 17:50 | General Discussion |
| 17:50 – 18:00 | Closing remarks IFPBGeorg Guebitz |
| 18:00 – 18:15 | Coffee Break and IFPB Poster Session |
| 21:00 | Chilling Life Science (Dom im Berg) |
