AMBIOCAS is a Small Scale Integrating Project that commenced on the 1st January 2010. It is EU-funded through the 7th Framework Cooperation Programme that has strategic objectives of supporting research activities to gain or consolidate leadership in key scientific and technology areas and to encourage international competitiveness whilst promoting research that supports EU policies.

Led by Professor Nick Turner at the CoEBio3 in the MIB at The University of Manchester AMBIOCAS intends to engineer ω-transaminase libraries that will be applied as the main enzymatic technology to deliver the amine functionality in the commercially valuable products of both chiral and bulk amine targets. These enzymes will be used in enzymatic cascades where simple starting materials are converted into the required intermediates for transamination or further enzymatic steps will be used to remove products from the ω-transaminase reaction which will add value by extra functionality.

As well as the research objectives the project will develop the skills and networks of a group of researchers through this joint research programme at leading national Universities and Industrial Partners and hence the researchers that worked in AMBIOCAS will have not only the current state-of-the-art skill set in white biotechnology but a highly developed network of academic and industrial leaders in the field.

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Nick Turner, Centre Director

See the CoEBio website