Symposium on "Novel tendencies and challenges in the chemical processes of XXI century" organized by UNED

It is the third time that the Applied Biocatalysis Group participates in the Symposium“Novel Tendencies and Challenges in the Chemical Processes of XXI Century" (April 27-29 2016), auspiced by the UNED (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia). Francisco Plou developed a talk entitled "Use of enzymes in sustainable chemical processes".

"The Enzymes", divulgation book by Francisco Plou

Francisco Plou has just published the book "What we know about ...The Enzymes", a disclosure book jointly edited by CSIC and Catarata Publishers. The aim of this book is bringing the world of enzymes to readers, and show them the importance of these biological catalysts in our health and in many aspects of our daily life (food, drugs, fuels, polymers, etc.).

Joint XII Carbohydrate Symposium / III Chemical Biology Meeting

The Applied Biocatalysis Group has participated in the XII Carbohydrate Symposium / III Chemical Biology Meeting that was held  at the "Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas" (CIB-CSIC) in Madrid, from 14th-16th March 2016. This  joint meeting has enabled communication of research embracing the interface between chemistry and biology, with special focus on modern glycosciences, Our group presented two posters in this Symposium:

"Strategies for the enzymatic glycosylation of phenolic groups to improve the bioactivity of polyphenols".  Authors: Noa Míguez, Maria Gimeno-Perez, Mercedes Ramirez-Escudero, Juan Blazquez, J. Daniel Padilla, Laura Leemans, David Piedrabuena, Lucia Fernandez-Arrojo, Georgina Sandoval, Julia Sanz-Aparicio, Maria Fernandez-Lobato, Francisco J. Plou and Antonio O. Ballesteros.

"Feasibility of the production of carbohydrate fatty acid esters from Agave tequilana fructans by enzymatic acylation". Authors: Leticia Casas-Godoy, Javier Arrizon, Daniel Arrieta, Antonio O. Ballesteros, Francisco Plou and Georgina Sandoval.

Fatty acid esters of fructans from Agave tequilana

In collaboration with CIATEJ (Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico) and the National Polytechnic Institute (Mexico D.F.) we have participated in the enzymatic synthesis of fatty acid esters of fructans from Agave tequilana.This is the first report of a successful enzymatic synthesis of esters of branched fructans.The lipase used produced mono- and diacylated products.The carbohydrate fatty acid esters were good stabilizers of water in oil emulsions.

Reference: “Synthesis and emulsifying properties of carbohydrate fatty acid esters produced from Agave tequilana fructans by enzymatic acylation”. L. Casas-Godoy, J. Arrizon, D. Arrieta, F.J. Plou and G. Sandoval. Food Chemistry, in press. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.02.153 (2016).

Visit of the High School IES Averroes (Cordoba)

Two teachers and 29 students from the High School IES Averroes (Cordoba, Spain) have visited the Applied Biocatalysis Group at the Institute of Catalysis and Petrochemistry. The students have carried out a series of experiments related with the field of Biocatalysis. They have also visited the Directed Evolution Laboratory and the Bioelectrocatalysis Group.

Enzymatic synthesis of ferulic acid derivatives

Lipophilic and stable derivatives of ferulic acid are required to improve its efficacy in fatty foods and to optimize its use in cosmetic and pharmaceutical preparations. In collaboration with the University of  Buenos Aires (Argentina) and CIATEJ (Guadalajara, Mexico), we have developed an improved synthesis of ferulic acid monoesters (ethyl ferulate and lauryl ferulate) by using immobilized lipase from Candida antarctica B in diisopropyl ether. Ethyl ferulate was further acylated with vinyl esters to form ferulate diesters. The anti-inflammatory activity of the synthesized derivatives was evaluated in vitro.

Reference: “Lipase-catalyzed preparation of mono- and diesters of ferulic acid”. G. Sandoval, P.G. Quintana, A. Baldessari, A.O. Ballesteros, F.J. Plou. Biocatalysis & Biotransformation 33, 89-97 (2015), doi:10.3109/10242422.2015.1060228

Specialization Course on "Industrial and Pharmaceutical Technology" at Universidad de Navarra

The group has participated in the specialization course on "Industrial and Pharmaceutical Technology", organized by the University of Navarra, which is accessed exclusively through the FIR, This course forms professionals highly qualified in the field of research, development and industrial production of drugs. Barbara Rodriguez and Francisco Plou gave a series of seminars focused on the application of enzyme technology for the production of pharmaceuticals.

Postgraduate course on enzyme applications

Francisco Plou has taught a course on "Applications of enzymes in the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries" at the School of Biochemical Engineering of the PUCV (Chile). The course was attended by around 20 postgraduate and PhD students and the lessons were divided in three days. More information

Conference at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso (Chile)

During his visit to the School of Biochemical Engineering at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica "Transformation of carbohydrates into bioactive compounds using glycosidic enzymes", This conference was the starting point of a series of activities that are taking place this week, in the context of the collaboration between the group of biocatalysis of the School of Biomedical Engineering and our research group.

Master of Biotechnology at the International Campus of Excellence UAM+CSIC

The Applied Biocatalysis Group and the Directed Enzyme Evolution Laboratory are participating  in the official Master of Biotechnology at the International Campus of Excellence UAM+CSIC. In addition to a series of seminars on the different aspects of biocatalysis, the students (23) have visited our laboratories at the Institute of Catalysis and Petrochemistry.

Open Day at the Institute of Catalysis and Petrochemistry

The Applied Biocatalysis Group has participated in the Open Day of the Institute of Catalysis and Petrochemistry (11-13 November 2015) in the context of Science Week 2015. Students from different High Schools of the Madrid Region have visited our laboratory. They have carried out a laboratory practice entitled "Removing lactose from milk with enzymes".

Symposium "Biocatalysis in Industrial Biotechnology" in Mexico DF

Our research group has participated in the Symposium "Biocatalysis in Industrial Biotechnology" organized by the former BIOCATEM network. The Symposium was held in Mexico DF, and Francisco Plou pronounced a conference on "Enzymes in the preparation of functional ingredients: prebiotics and antioxidant derivatives". Several Mexican companies and researchers from different countries contributed to the meeting. Link to the videos of the conferences.

Antonio Ballesteros, appointed Academic of the RANF

Prof. Antonio Ballesteros has been appointed Academic of  the Royal Academy of Pharmacy of Spain (RANF). Congratulations!

Presence of ABG Group in LIGNOCEL Meeting

In the last meeting of the LIGNOCEL Network (Biotechnology of Lignocellulolosic Materials), which took place in Madrid (October 1-2 2015), our laboratory presented the work "Enzymatic transformation of xylan into xylooligosaccharides by the synergistic action of two endoxylanases". The meeting was very fruitful to establish new collaborations between research groups involved in the exploitation of lignocellulosic residues.

The Applied Biocatalysis Group in Pan European Networks: Science & Technology

The profile of our research group is depicted in the last issue of Pan European Networks: Science & Technology. Link to the full article

BIOTRANS 2015

Our group has participated in the 12th Biotrans Meeting held on July 26 – 30, 2015, at Vienna University of Technology, with two contributions:
"Covalent immobilization of Zymomonas mobilis levansucrase on silica activated with vinyl sulfone", presented by Paloma Santos-Moriano
"Micro-scale procedure for enzyme immobilization screening and operational stability assays”, presented by lucía Fernández-Arrojo

SECAT 2015

The work "Enzymatic transformation of birchwood xylan into high added value products" was selected for oral presentation in the Congress of the Spanish Society of Catalysis (SECAT 2015) held in Barcelona (Spain) from 13-15 July 2015.

"Best Flash Presentation" Prize to Luciana Santibañez

The Applied Biocatalysis Group has participated in the I Spanish Meeting on Biocatalysis, which was held in Madrid from 2-3 July 2015. This meeting was an initiative of the Applied Biocatalysis Section of the Spanish Society of Biotechnology. One of our abstracts, namely that entitled "Hydrolysis of residual lactose in crude galactooligosaccharides by immobilized beta-galactosidase from Kluyveromyces lactis", presented by Luciana Santibañez, was awarded with the "Best Flash Presentation" Prize.

One of our papers, cover page in Annals of RANF

"Enzymatic synthesis of fructooligosaccharides that stimulate the gut microbiota". P. Santos-Moriano, L. Fernández-Arrojo, B. Rodríguez-Colinas, A.O. Ballesteros, F.J. Plou. Anales de la Real Academia Nacional de Farmacia  81, 48-62 (2015). Download (in Spanish)

Levansucrase activity

We have published an article on the effect of sucrose concentration and temperature on the levansucrase from Zymomonas mobilis. The three activities displayed by this enzyme were studied: formation of levan (polymerization), production of short-chain fructooligosaccharides (FOS), and sucrose hydrolysis.
Reference: “Levan versus fructooligosaccharide synthesis using the levansucrase from Zymomonas mobilis: effect of reaction conditions”. P. Santos-Moriano, L. Fernandez-Arrojo, A. Poveda, J. Jimenez-Barbero, A.O. Ballesteros and F.J. Plou. Journal of Molecular Catalysis B: Enzymatic, DOI: 10.1016/j.molcatb.2015.05.011 (2015)