About the innovator

Our research team at the Graz University of Technology closely collaborates with the Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (acib GmbH) in Graz to translate research results of the project ROBOX into applicable enzyme kits and with the TU Graz and acib spin off company bisy e.U. for future exploitation of those results. Our focus is on new robust enzyme kits for bio-hydroxylations - reactions which are difficult and sometimes impossible by classical chemistry

What is the innovation

We have developed a new set of versatile enzymes for a broad range of substrates. Activities started from new enzyme discovery and engineering but also included efforts to stabilize standardized enzyme preparations for transport to third parties and possible applications at the labs of end users. The new activities built on inventive protein expression technologies developed in former FP7 projects and were now applied to develop a new set of biocatalysts with unprecedented activity and stability.

Out of the lab. Into the market

Within the project ROBOX, the TU Graz team worked closely with acib, in order to translate the results about new enzyme activities in enzyme preparations with characterized and standardized activities, stabilized and formulated as ready to use catalysts. Discover activities were complemented by the team of the University Groningen, bringing new enzymes into this collaboration. The team in Barcelona (UAB) supported by experiments and new protocols for the scale up of biocatalyst production in controlled bioreactor experiments. The spin off company bisy supported by adding complementary enzymes from own developments and presenting first test kits and possible future products to interested users of biocatalysts at the trade fair CPHI in Madrid (> 40.000 visitors). The team from DTU supported by identifying a suitable range of applications and feasible product price ranges and the partner Innosyn demonstrated the scalability of such type of bio-hydroxation.

Benefits of participation in the Framework Programme

The reached level of development and success and know how from enzyme discovery via biocatalyst production up to the identification of possible market sectors where the application of such new biocatalysts makes also sense in an economic point of view was only possible by such concerted EU wide action.
This innovation was funded via H2020 project ROBOX

Team behind the innovation

/futurium/en/file/teamjpg-5team.jpg

 

Video