Current Research Projects …

Stabilization of enzymes by chemical modifications. Enzymes are powerful industrial biocatalysts, but they generally have poor stability at elevated temperature. If enzymes are made resistant to thermal denaturation, many industrial reactions could be carried out more rapidly than is possible today. Doctoral student Pat Tananchai is investigating methods of stabilizing enzymes by chemical modifications. This work is co-supervised with Dr. Gillian Norris. The project is partly funded by the Thai Government.

Plant cell and tissue culture. Plant cell suspension culture and hairy roots are potentially useful for producing colorants, fragrances and other plant metabolites. Research student Retty Oommen is studying the use of plant cells and hairy roots for producing metabolites from lavender. Mechanical properties and shear sensitivity of plant cells are being examined.

Biofuels from microalgae. Microalgae are possibly an only source of renewable liquid transport fuels with the potential to fully replace petroleum based fuels. Research is being carried out on cultivation of microalgae and algal fuels by several doctoral students. Advanced technologies for producing bioethanol. Doctoral student Azilah Ajit is using bacteria to produce renewable bioethanol fuel. Methods are being developed for enhancing the productivity of the fermentation through in situ recovery of ethanol. This project is co-supervised with Dr. Steven Pratt of Massey University and it is partly funded by the Malaysian Government.

Production of colorants, pigments and bioactives by solid-state ferementation. Doctoral student Farhan Said is using solid-state and submerged fermentations to produce various potentially useful products. The project is cosupervised with Dr. John Brooks of Massey University. Part funding is provided by the Government of Malaysia. Sonobioreactor engineering for productivity enhancement in bioprocessing. Use of ultrasound is being investigated for improving the productivity of bioprocesses involving live cells and cell-free enzyme systems. Doctoral student Ahmad Ziad is being cosupervised with Professor Rosli Yunus of University Malaysia Pahang. This work is partly funded by the Government of Malaysia.

Microalgae as aquaculture feeds. Graduate student Simon Tannock is investigating the large-scale production of the microalga Chaetoceros calcitrans, as a high-value live feed for shellfish. The projects is sponsored by the Cawthron Institute and the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.

Recombinant vaccines against parasitic worms. This work is developing strategies for producing recombinant proteins for use as immunogens against hydatids worms in farm animals. Production of the recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli, Pichia and an insect cell line is being investigated by the research student Daniel Manderson. This work is co-supervised with Dr. Robert Dempster. The project is supported by Celentis Ltd and the Foundation for Research Science and Technology.

Nitrate and phosphate removal from wastewaters. Doctoral student Nicola Powell is working on microbial technologies for nitrogen and phosphorus removal from wastewaters in treatment lagoons. This work is being co-supervised with Dr. Andrew Shilton and Dr. Steven Pratt of Massey University.

Diagnostic antibody against congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). Doctoral student Joan Chua is developing a process for producing a monoclonal antibody for diagnosis of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), a genetic disorder of the adrenal gland. This work is being co-supervised with Professor Badhrulhisham Bin Abdul Aziz of the University College of Engineering and Technology Malaysia and Dr Badarulhisam Bin Abdul Rahman of Inno Biologics, Malaysia. Recovery of bioactivity by refolding of denatured proteins. This project is attempting to develop practical methods of refolding denatured polypeptides to recover the biologically active structure. Preliminary work was carried out by the research student Kenneth Wong and is being extended by Clémentine Dressaire. Vaccine against a protozoal infection. This confidential work identified methods for producing a long-life live vaccine against a protozoal infection of sheep. Mike Hartevelt was the student researcher on this project. The project was supported by AgVax Ltd and the Foundation for Research Science and Technology. Research was co-supervised with staff of AgVax. Mike’s thesis is currently being examined. Membrane bioreactors for flavor modifications. This work is focussed on developing membrane bioreactors for modifying the flavor properties of dairy products. The research student Sophia Stathopoulos is being co-supervised with the staff of Fonterra Ltd. The project commenced in 2001 and is expected to conclude in 2004. Novel strategies for cultivating microalgae. Research student Sophie Borchert investigated the production of microalgal metabolites in cultures grown heterotrophically.

Microbial production and in situ recovery of metabolites. Certain fermentation processes are inhibited by the metabolites they produce. The consequent slowing of the production rate can be prevented by removing the metabolite as it is being produced. Research student Jason Ryan is studying the production and simultaneous recovery by adsorption, of the antitumor agent anguidine and the antibiotic rapamycin. This project is sponsored by IRL BioPharm, New Zealand. Enzymatic processing of hides to leather. This work is sponsored by the Leather and Shoe Research Association (LASRA) and the New Zealand Foundation for Research Science and Technology. The project is devising enzymatic methods for leathermaking, to replace the existing highly polluting methods. Richard Edmonds is the PhD student on this project. The project is being co-supervised with Dr. John Bronlund, Dr. Gillian Norris and staff of LASRA. Fermentation of whey to ethanol. This project is developing strategies for predicting the ethanol production profile during fermentation of whey of variable composition. The work is supported by Fonterra Ltd, Edgecumbe. The research student on this project and is being co-supervised with staff of the sponsoring company.

Immunopotentiary polysaccharopeptides from a mushroom. This work investigated the production of therapeutically beneficial polysaccharopeptides from the fungus Coriolus versicolor grown in submerged culture. The research student Jian Cui recently submitted his thesis.
 

Collaborative research projects with international partners
 

University of Almería, Spain

Novel strategies for producing lovastatin. Strategies are being researched for producing the blood cholesterol lowering drug lovastatin. This research project is based at the University of Almería, Spain, in collaboration with Dr. J.L. Casas Lopez, Professor J.A. Sanchez Perez and Professor Emilio Molina.

Photobioreactors at the University of Almería

Photobioreactor engineering. This work is focused on developing strategies for designing photobioreactors and predicting the biomass/metabolite productivity of these reactors. The work is being carried out in collaboration with several staff of the University of Almería, Spain, and Professor F. Camacho Rubio of the University of Granada, Spain.

Toxicity assessment of mixed pollutants. Toxicity of individual pollutants and mixtures of pollutants is being assessed with a view to predicting the toxicity of a mixture from the toxicities of its constituents. This work is being carried out in collaboration with Professor A.R. Fernandez-Alba of the University of Almería, Spain. This project is sponsored by the Spanish Government and the Government of Andalucia.

A sunset in Almería

National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, India

Enzymes, therapeutic proteins and microbial metabolites. Collaborative work is being carried out with Professor U.C. Banerjee, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, India, on producing various enzymes, therapeutic proteins and microbial hydrocarbons of potential value as fuels.

Steroidal biotransformations. Collaborative work is underway with Professors J. Manosroi and A. Manosroi of Chiang Mai University, Thailand. This work is focussed on production of various steroidal products by biotransformations. Other aspects of this collaboration span work on pharmaceutical products and production technologies.

A day out in Chiang Mai

Biofuels and biotechnology products. Work is being done in collaboration with Dr. S. Sirisansaneeyakul and Dr. P. Srinophakun of Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand. Other participants include Dr. W. Choorit of Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. Production of a variety of biotechnology products and algal biofuels is being examined.

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