Two inter-departmental projects in association with the Department of Electronics
made good progress, one of which is on the development of novel electroporation
equipment and the other is for a system for sterilising hospital wastes using microwave
technology. In an industry - institute collaborating project, a naked eye visible
agglutination assay for ascertaining the HIV infective status of human was developed,
and the technology is under transfer to the industry. Plastic wares suitable for biotech
research were developed in different forms like vials, tubes and micropipette tips.
Wettable polystyrene plates suitable for cell culture and ELISA plates to substitute the
imported ones have been developed.
Bioproducts are industrial and consumer goods manufactured from renewable resources. Although the emerging bioindustrial sector may be in its infancy, it is rapidly developing. Potential markets for bioproducts are wide-ranging and include polymers, lubricants, solvents, adhesives, herbicides and pharmaceuticals.
Sparked by consumer demand to reduce our dependence on non-renewable resources and powered by existing reserves of renewable forest and agricultural biomass, industry is seeking specialized facilities and expertise to help design, develop and demonstrate new biomass feedstocks, biorefining processes, and higher value bioproducts.
