Nanostructured Biomaterials for Cranio-maxillofacial and Oral Applications examines the combined impact of materials science, biomedical and chemical engineering, and biology to provide enhanced biomaterials for applications in maxillo-facial rehabilitation and implantology. With a strong focus on a variety of material classes, it examines material processing and characterization techniques to decrease mechanical and biological failure in the human body. After an introduction to the field, the most commonly used materials for cranio-facial applications, including ceramics, polymers and glass ceramics are presented. The book then looks at nanostructured surfaces, functionally graded biomaterials and the manufacturing of nanostructured materials via 3-D printing. This book is a valuable resource for scientists, researchers and clinicians wishing to broaden their knowledge in this important and developing field.

Genetic Engineering of Horticultural Crops provides key insights into commercialized crops, their improved productivity, disease and pest resistance, and enhanced nutritional or medicinal benefits. It includes insights into key technologies, such as marker traits identification and genetic traits transfer for increased productivity, examining the latest transgenic advances in a variety of crops and providing foundational information that can be applied to new areas of study. As modern biotechnology has helped to increase crop productivity by introducing novel gene(s) with high quality disease resistance and increased drought tolerance, this is an ideal resource for researchers and industry professionals.

Inorganic Frameworks as Smart Nanocarriers for Drug Delivery brings together recent research in the area of inorganic frameworks for drug delivery. Different types of nanocarriers are presented and discussed in detail, providing an up-to-date overview on inorganic nanoparticles with pharmaceutical applications. Written by a diverse range of international academics, this book is a valuable reference resource for researchers in biomaterials, the pharmaceutical industry, and those who want to learn more about the current applications of inorganic smart nanocarriers.

For many years the use of chemical agents such as pesticides and herbicides has been effective in controlling the many varieties of pests that infest both agricultural crops and backyard gardens. However, these pests are gradually becoming resistant to these agents, because the agents themselves are acting as selective factors making the pests better and better able to resist and persist. As a result, the use of biological controlling agents is increasing.
This book is a comprehensive and authoritative handbook of biological control.
Key Features
* Introduction (preface plus 2 chapters)
* Principles and processes (12 chapters)
* Agents, biology, and methods (6 chapters)
* Applications (10 chapters)
* Research (2 chapters)

This manual is designed as an intensive introduction to the various tools of molecular biology. It introduces all the basic methods of molecular biology including cloning, PCR, Southern (DNA) blotting, Northern (RNA) blotting, Western blotting, DNA sequencing, oligo-directed mutagenesis, and protein expression.
Key Features
* Provides well-tested experimental protocols for each technique
* Lists the reagents and preparation of each experiment separately
* Contains a complete schedule of experiments and the preparation required
* Includes study questions at the end of each chapter

White biotechnology, or industrial biotechnology as it is also known, refers to the use of living cells and/or their enzymes to create industrial products that are more easily degradable, require less energy, create less waste during production and sometimes perform better than products created using traditional chemical processes. Over the last decade considerable progress has been made in white biotechnology research, and further major scientific and technological breakthroughs are expected in the future. Fungi are ubiquitous in nature and have been sorted out from different habitats, including extreme environments (high temperature, low temperature, salinity and pH), and may be associated with plants (epiphytic, endophytic and rhizospheric). The fungal strains are beneficial as well as harmful for human beings. The beneficial fungal strains may play important roles in the agricultural, industrial, and medical sectors. The fungal strains and their products (enzymes, bioactive compounds, and secondary metabolites) are very useful for industry (e.g., the discovery of penicillin from Penicillium chrysogenum). This discovery was a milestone in the development of white biotechnology as the industrial production of penicillin and antibiotics using fungi moved industrial biotechnology into the modern era, transforming it into a global industrial technology. Since then, white biotechnology has steadily developed and now plays a key role in several industrial sectors, providing both high value nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products. The fungal strains and bioactive compounds also play an important role in environmental cleaning. This volume covers the latest developments and research in white biotechnology with a focus on diversity and enzymes.

Omics Technologies and Bio-Engineering: Towards Improving Quality of Life, Volume 1 is a unique reference that brings together multiple perspectives on omics research, providing in-depth analysis and insights from an international team of authors. The book delivers pivotal information that will inform and improve medical and biological research by helping readers gain more direct access to analytic data, an increased understanding on data evaluation, and a comprehensive picture on how to use omics data in molecular biology, biotechnology and human health care.

Engineering of Biomaterials for Drug Delivery Systems: Beyond Polyethylene Glycol examines the combined issues of PEGylation and viable biomaterials as alternatives. With a strong focus on polymeric biomaterials, the book first reviews the major issues associated with PEGylation and its use in vivo. Chapters then focus on alternative polymer systems for drug delivery systems. Finally, nanoparticles and future perspectives are examined. This book is a valuable resource for scientists and researchers in biomaterials, pharmaceuticals and nanotechnology, and all those who wish to broaden their knowledge in this field.

Environmental sustainability is one of the biggest issues faced by the mankind. Rapid & rampant industrialization has put great pressure on the natural resources. To make our planet a sustainable ecosystem, habitable for future generations & provide equal opportunity for all the living creatures we not only need to make corrections but also remediate the polluted natural resources. The low-input biotechnological techniques involving microbes and plants can provide the solution for resurrecting the ecosystems. Bioremediation and biodegradation can be used to improve the conditions of polluted soil and water bodies. Green energy involving biofuels have to replace the fossil fuels to combat pollution & global warming. Biological alternatives (bioinoculants) have to replace harmful chemicals for maintaining sustainability of agro-ecosystems. The book will cover the latest developments in environmental biotech so as to use in clearing and maintaining the ecosystems for sustainable future.

This book focuses on the state-of-the-art of biosensor research and development for specialists and non-specialists. It introduces the fundamentals of the subject with relevant characteristics of transducer elements, as well as biochemical recognition molecules. This book is ideal for researchers of nanotechnology, materials science and biophysics.

Progress in the applications of biotechnology depends on a wide base of basic as well as applied sciences. The output of biotechnology has already proved itself in many different fields, from health to biomining, and from agriculture to enzyme "breeding."
The objectives of the "Biotechnology Annual Review" series is to provide readers with the needed in-depth knowledge by reviewing specific topics in each volume. In this way, it is easier for scientists to keep in touch with progress and applications in biotechnology.
Up-to-date topics are reviewed that are related to regulatory affairs, social impact, biodiversity and patent issues, as well as production and technology.

This book reviews the wide range of products and applications of solid state fermentation as well as the development of this cultivation technology over the last years. In this book, readers will also learn about the challenges of solid state fermentation, including process management, reactor design, scale-up and the formation of process-specific products. Solid fermentation is a traditional cultivation technique of food technology and involves all cultivations of microorganisms on a solid substrate without free liquid phase. In the course of development of Biotechnology it was replaced by liquid cultivation mainly in the western countries. Over the past few years, solid-state fermentation is now becoming more important and has moved more back into focus. Especially, it is suitable for the cultivation of filamentous organisms, like ascomycetes and basidiomycetes, but also for various yeasts and bacteria. The products and applications of solid-state fermentation are as diverse as the microorganisms. They range from enzyme production to the production of antibiotics and pigments to the use in environmental technology and energy production.

This book gathers the latest findings on the microbial ecology of saline habitats, plant-microbe interactions under saline conditions, and saline soil reclamation for agricultural use. The content is divided into four main parts: Part I outlines the definition of salinity, its genesis and impacts, and microbial diversity in saline habitats. Part II deals with impact of salinity on microbial and plant life/health. Part III highlights plant - microbe interactions in saline environments, and Part IV describes strategies for mitigation and reclamation of saline soils. The salinization of arable land is steadily increasing in many parts of the world. An excessive concentration of soluble salts (salinity) in soils or irrigation water adversely affects plant growth and survival. This problem is exacerbated in arid and semiarid areas due to their low precipitation and high evaporation rates. In turn, poor management practices and policies for using river water for the irrigation of agriculture crops often lead to the secondary salinization of soils. Considering the growing demands of a constantly expanding population, understanding the microbial ecology and interactions under saline conditions and their implications for sustainable agriculture is of utmost importance. Providing both an essential review of the status quo and a future outlook, this book represents a valuable asset for researchers, environmentalists and students working in microbiology and agriculture. .

This new series aims at covering the development in the field of biotechnology in the form of comprehensive, illustrated and well-referenced reviews. With the expansion in the field of biotechnology both in industry as well as in education, coupled with the increase in the number of new journals reporting new results in the field, the need for a publication that is continuously providing reviews is urgent. The goal of Biotechnology Annual Review is to fill this gap. Reviewed topics will include biotechnology applications in medicine, agriculture, marine biology, industry, bioremediation and the environment. Fundamental problems dealing with enhancing the technical knowledge encountering biotechnology utilization, regardless of the field of application, will be emphasized. Other issues, dealing with policy and regulation of biotechnology as well as the problems of development in developing countries, as related to biotechnology, will be included in the various issues.

The "Editorial Board" of Biotechnology Annual Review encourages suggestions and contributions of articles from industry or from academic institutions that would constitute a comprehensive covering of a relevant topic in biotechnology.
Proposals for contributions and/or suggestions for topics for future volumes in this series should be sent to the Editor:

Professor M. Raafat El-Gewely
Department of Biotechnology
Institute of Medical Biology
University of Tromso
9037 Tromso
Norway
Tel: (+47) 77 644654
Fax: (+47) 77 645350

An Introduction to Ethical, Safety and Intellectual Property Rights Issues in Biotechnology provides a comprehensive look at the biggest technologies that have revolutionized biology since the early 20th century, also discussing their impact on society. The book focuses on issues related to bioethics, biosafety and intellectual property rights, and is written in an easy-to-understand manner for graduate students and early career researchers interested in the opportunities and challenges associated with advances in biotechnology. Important topics covered include the Human Genome Project, human cloning, rDNA technology, the 3Rs and animal welfare, bioterrorism, human rights and genetic discrimination, good laboratory practices, good manufacturing practices, the protection of biological material and much more. Full of relevant case studies, practical examples, weblinks and resources for further reading, this book offers an essential and holistic look at the ways in which biotechnology has affected our global society.

Interdisciplinary Research and Applications in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, and Environmental Sciences is a collection of cutting-edge research papers in the field of computational and systems biology contributed by leading researchers from across the globe. The studies range from the atomic/molecular level to the genomic level and present a wide spectrum of important biological problems and applications. It is a must-read for researchers in a broad range of disciplines, including computer science, chemistry, physics, math and statistics, and biological sciences.