EU funds for transnational chitosan project

What is ERA-IB?

The European Commission supports projects which are more than regional or national cooperations. ERA-IB is part of the ERA-NET - European Research Area-NETworks. IB refers to industrial biotechnology.

19 research funding organisations from 13 countries declared the following aims: 

    Establishment of transnational partnerships in the field of industrial and academic research
    Support of the knowledge transfer from fundamental research to sophisticated and cost-effective products and processes
    Improvement of technology-transfers
    Support of a sustainable pan-European industrial development

Project information

Project title

Metabolic and Enzyme Engineering for the Biotechnological Production of Partially Acetylated Chitosans (ChitoBioEngineering)

Idea and objective

Chitosans constitute an element group. Depending on their specification their functionality might differ in the same field of application. Usually chitosan from animal source is produced through chemical processes. During this project defined chitosan shall be generated biotechnologically by enzymatic fermentation.

Prof. Bruno Moerschbacher from the University of Münster, Germany, is the project coordinator. Three academic and two industrial partners participate in the research group.

Individual tasks

• University of Ghent, Belgium
  • Optimization of bacterial strains, in which the chitosans will be produced
• University of Barcelona, Spain
  • Optimization of necessary enzymes
• University of Münster, Germany
  • Production of defined chitosans by means of the optimized enzymes
• Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant vzw, Ghent, Belgium
  • Processes upscaling from lab- to industrial scale
• Heppe Medical Chitosan GmbH, Halle (Saale), Germany
  • Analysis of the produced chitosans; revision of possible fields of medical application

Project duration

3 years

We are looking forward to participate in this project and fathom new spheres in the world of chitosan production.

Sources:

    BMBF
    ERA-IB
    press release of  the University of Münster