CIARA_OSULLIVAN-2

 

  • Microalgae biorefineries:?preservation strategies,?genetic studies and?high added value production.
    • Conservation studies of microalgae: improving the conservation methodologies of these microorganisms will enable a better understanding of their behaviour and will facilitate their use at industrial level.
    • Development and optimization of processes for microalgae products recovery.
  • Biotechnological research related to Environmental Microbiology.
    • Bioremediation of contaminated soil and water. These include such xenobiotics as fuel oxygenates (MTBE, ETBE) and uranium. Moreover, molecular genetic studies have been performed in bioremediation.
    • Microbial production of biohydrogen from different substrates and biomass.
    • Biotransformation of biomass (cellulose, waste) to products with added value.
    • Graphite decontamination by bacteria.
    • Biosynthesis of nanoparticles.

  • Synthesis and characterisation of functional polymeric materials based on cyclodextrins. Supramolecular nanomaterials for surface modification, biosensors and nanocapsule preparation.
  • Protein engineering techniques to improve the properties of proteins for biotechnological applications, from developing novel protein immobilization systems based on DNA-protein interactions to the use of directed evolution of transcription factors to optimize whole cell genetic control networks that would improve the production of specific metabolites.