Introduction

Microbes are the most abundant and diverse group of organisms. They play vital role in biogeochemical cycling and environmental sustainability. A better understanding of the potential of microbial communities to remove toxic compounds and synthesize molecules for eco-friendly industrial application is of great importance. The research in our laboratory spans across the fields of environmental microbial, environmental biotechnology and the utilisation of microbial communities to mitigate various pollutants.

The Environmental Biotechnology group aims to develop:
(1) biological systems for remediation of various pollutants, especially hydrocarbons and heavy metals,
(2) fabrication of nanomaterials for remediation purposes,
(3) nuclear technique as a tool for heavy metal analysis for monitoring purposes.

The underlying, application-oriented objectives are:
(i) the rational, knowledge-based exploitation of microbes in aspects of biotechnology
(ii) the development of new industrial applications of microorganisms.