Point (ECTS )

To introduce students to the important field of modern industrial biotechnology based on the microbial cell factory (i.e. manipulation and use of microbial cells to act as generic ‘microbial factories’ to produce a desired product). The students should acquire a fundamental knowledge on basic principles of gene technology for construction of cell factories as well as characterization of organisms using fermentation technology for producing biotechnological products.

• Discuss strategies for strain selection and improvements encompassing both classical and metabolic engineering methods.
• Use simple molecular biology procedures to manipulate the microbial cell factory.
• Select suitable medium components and design quantitatively a growth medium for use in a given case study.
• Describe the bioreactor and auxiliary equipment and explain the function of the various parts.
• Design a fermentation process based on knowledge of process kinetics and microbiology.
• Set up and perform fermentations in lab-scale to produce a product and subsequently evaluate the results.
• Write a technical report which evaluates information from the scientific experiments.
• Give an oral presentation of the essential results and conclusions obtained from the fermentations performed.

Contents: The course will focus on several experimental and theroretical aspects of biotechnology. A selected case topic is to be investigated experimentally while the rest are dealt with theoretically. Exercises with industrially important microbial strains will be performed in top modern student’s laboratories well suited for microbiology, biochemistry and molecular biology experiments. The projects will be decided upon at the start of the course.

The course is aimed primarily at international students at the end of their bachelor education who are visiting DTU in the summer
For registration please contact International Office http://www.dtu.dk/English/education/International_Affairs.aspx.