Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences

The Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences started its scientific and educational activity on September 1st 1950, initially under the name 
of the Faculty of Food Chemistry.
From the very beginning the works executed at the Faculty were interdisciplinary and covered the following disciplines of research: engineering, chemistry and biology. Harmonious combining of these disciplines distinguishes the research activity of the Faculty from other Polish technical universities and provides the potential of improving the existing technologies as well as devising new food production technologies and methods of reducing the environmental pollution and its bioremediation.
Three courses have been awarded Quality Certificates of Accreditation Commission. 
The Faculty offers program in English as a language in tuition for the field of Biotechnology. The course is organised in cooperation with the International Faculty of Engineering.
This structure of the Faculty still remains in the present and has been carrying out both fundamental and applied research.
The academic staff includes 131 members. There are 15 professors and 11 associate professors at the Faculty
By 2008 more than 8000 students graduated from our Faculty. Currently above 1900 students acquire the knowledge at full-time and part-time studies.

In 1970 four Institutes were established:
Institute of General Food Chemistry
Institute of Technical Biochemistry
Institute of Chemical Technology of Food
Institute of Fermentation Technology and Microbiology 

The fundamental and applied research concentrate on the following subjects:
Analytical and bioinorganic chemistry - instrumental food analysis, trace analysis of inorganic and organic compounds, interactions of bioelements in bioligands
Bioorganic chemistry - biotransformation of organic compounds and organic electrosynthesis
Biophysical chemistry - enzyme immobilization, biosensors, interaction of drugs with DNA, structure of biopolymers
Molecular biotechnology and technical biochemistry - applied and nonconventional (at low and high temperature and pressure as well as in nonaqueous media) biocatalysis, genetic and carbohydrate engineering, environmental biotechnology, immobilized biocatalysis, novel biomaterials, food immunolotechnology, crystallographic analysis of biomolecules
Biochemistry of food - cellular studies and bioactivity of natural plant compounds, i.e. polyphenols, carotenoids, phytohormones, peptides, nucleotides and others
Technical microbiology - lactic acid bacteria, food microbiology, rapid methods of microbiological analysis, yeast types with important biotechnological features, biosynthesis of organic acids, moulds in food, biodegradation of mycotoxins, microbial biodeterioration of technical materials
Microorganism culture collection ŁOCK 105 WFCC - the collection maintains 650 strains of various yeasts, filamentous fungi and bacteria for traditional and modern biotechnological processes
Fermentation technology - bread fermentation process, selenium supplementation in foods, foaming abilities of brewing yeasts, antioxidant activity of fruit wines, wine and beer technology
Yeast and spirit technology - ethanol fermentation process, baker and fodder yeasts
Technology of vitamins and concentrated food - synthesis and decomposition of vitamins, pharmaceutical protein hydrolysates
Sugar technology - juice extraction and purification, sucrose crystallization, minimizing heat energy demand in sugar industry, automatic measurement and control
Technology of fruit and vegetable processing - natural plant pigments : polyphenol derivatives and carotenoids, isolation, characteristics, bioactivity
Starch technology - physical, chemical and enzymatic modification of starch, new technologies of prebiotics, esp. oligosaccharides 
Technology of fragrant products and cosmetics - analysis and synthesis of fragrant substances and biologically active agents for cosmetics and food aroma, analysis of essential oils
Thermal processing of food - thermal destruction of spores and degradation of labile constituents in food
Food refrigeration - application of modified and controlled atmosphere conditions, kinetics of nutrient destruction during cooling or freezing of food products and during freeze-drying
Food analysis and quality evaluation - evaluation of the level of technical contamination in food, detection and determination of saccharyds, alcohols, organic acids, saponins by the HPLC method, determination of trace amounts of inorganic ions in food by the AAS method  
The environmental protection group - conversion of waste into environment friendly products, bioremediation