19th International Symposium on Biopolymers

The 19th International Symposium on Biopolymers – “Towards Safe and Sustainable Biopolymers for our Future” was organised by the Universiti Sains Malaysia at Setia SPICE Convention Centre, Penang Island, Malaysia from 20-23 October 2024. As part of the conference, 4 plenary lecturers presented their work:

• Prof. George Guo-Qiang Chen – “Synthetic biology of Halomonas: Toward full scale PHA industrial production”, Tsinghua University, China

• Prof. Tadahisa Iwata – “Development of high-performance biodegradable biomass plastics and their microbial decomposition on the deep-sea floors”, University of Tokyo, Japan

• Prof. Bernd Rhem – “Directed assembly toward advanced bio-based materials”, Griffith University, Australia

• Prof. Auxiliadora Prieto – “Design and production of functional biohybrid materials based on bacterial polymers”, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Spain

Also, there were 16 keynote lectures, 19 invited lectures, 46 oral presentations and 85 poster presentations, from the research topics of:

• Engineering advances in biopolymer synthesis

• Biosynthesis and characterisation of novel biopolymers

• Exploring building blocks for bio-based polymers

• Biodegradation pathways

• Environmental impacts of biopolymers

• Sustainable feedstocks for biopolymer production

• Challenges in the industrial production of biopolymers

• PHA waste management

• Exploration of other biopolymers and bio-based polymers

• Applications of novel biopolymers in various industries

• Rubber biosynthesis and biodegradation

Two keynote lectures and two posters presented results from the EcoPlastiC project. This was also an excellent networking opportunity for two of the EcoPlastiC partners - IMGGE and NOVA:

Jasmina Nikodinovic-Runic (IMGGE) and Prof. Maria A. M. Reis (NOVA).

Within Session 11 “APPLICATION OF BIOPOLYMERS I” there was 1 keynote lecture:

• “Tuning properties of microbial biopolymers towards biomedical applications” by Jasmina Nikodinovic-Runic, Marijana Ponjavic and Vuk Filipovic Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering (IMGGE), Serbia.

Photos of the presenting author Dr Jasmina Nikodinovic-Runic during the lecture “Tuning properties of microbial biopolymers towards biomedical applications”.

Within Session 12 “ADVANCES AND CHALLENGES IN THE INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION OF BIOPOLYMERS II”, there was 1 keynote lecture:

• “Breaking the plastic wave: Innovating with biopolymer production” by Maria Reis, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Portugal.

Photo of the presenting author Maria Reis during the lecture “Breaking the plastic wave: Innovating with biopolymer production”.

Poster sessions topics included: Synthetic biology and genetic engineering, Biosynthesis and characterization of biopolymers, Applications of biopolymers in various industries, Sustainable feedstock and green technology for biopolymer production, Biodegradation and environmental impact of biopolymers.

Within Poster Session 2 “BIOSYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF BIOPOLYMERS”, there was 1 poster presentation:

• Poster B13 “Development and characterization of novel biobased polyurethane films reinforced with bacterial biomass” by Brana Pantelic (IMGGE), Chebrolu Venkateswara Rao (IMGGE), Jasmina Nikodinovic-Runic (IMGGE), Tatjana Ilic-Tomic (IMGGE), Dusan Milivojevic (IMGGE), Maciej Guzik (Jerzy Haber Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry Polish Academy of Sciences), Marijana Ponjavic (IMGGE).

Photo of Marija Nenadovic, Dusan Milivojevic, the B13 poster presenting author Brana Pantelic and Jasmina Nikodinovic-Runic from IMGGE with the poster “Development and characterization of novel biobased polyurethane films reinforced with bacterial biomass”.

Within Poster Session 5 “BIODEGRADATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF BIOPOLYMERS”, there was 1 poster presentation:

• Poster D12 “PHB and PHB-PHO composites with immobilized Streptomyces DG19 spores for enhanced polymer biodegradation” by Marija Nenadovic (IMGGE), Marijana Ponjavic (IMGGE), Brana Pantelic (IMGGE), Marija Mojicevic (TUS), Jasmina Nikodinovic Runic (IMGGE)

Photo of Jasmina Nikodinovic-Runic, the D12 poster presenting author Marija Nenadovic, Dusan Milivojevic and co-author Brana Pantelic IMGGE with the poster “PHB and PHB-PHO composites with immobilized Streptomyces DG19 spores for enhanced polymer biodegradation”.