Filomena Freitas
UCIBIO, FCT NOVA

Exploiting microbial polysaccharides and polyesters as materials for novel polymeric structures

Chaired by Maria Ascensão Reis

Short Bio:

Filomena Freitas is a Senior Researcher at the Biochemical Engineering Group (BIOENG), at UCIBIO-REQUIMTE, FCT-UNL. She has completed a PhD in Biological Engineering by FCT-UNL, in 2004. She has performed research on the development of upstream and downstream processes for the production of value-added microbial products, including polysaccharides, polyhydroxyalkanoates and fine chemicals, as well as intellectual property development and technology transfer. Special focus is also given on the biological valorization of agro-industrial wastes/byproducts, aiming at implementing sustainable bioprocesses.

Abstract:

Biopolymers are naturally synthesized by many microorganisms with different functions in the cell, including intracellular carbon or energy storage reserves, such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), and extracellular polysaccharides (EPS), often secreted as protective mechanisms in response to environmental conditions. Depending on their composition, structure and molecular weight, microbial biopolymers have properties that range from rheology modifiers of aqueous systems to bioplastics, which makes them useful in many industrial applications, including agro-food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical, textile, paper and oil recovery, etc.