Ph.D in Biotechnology

The laboratories in the department are working in the areas of cell biology, biochemistry, immunology, molecular biology, microbiology, parasitology, cell culture, and membrane drug interaction. The department is actively pursuing research in the following areas.

* Targeting signal transduction involved in microbial drug resistance
* Identification of new target protein(s) in insulin mediated signal transduction and in insulin resistance
* Enzyme drug interaction of medically important enzymes (Xanthine oxidase, HMG-CoA reductase etc.)
* Membrane drug interaction for better understanding of tissue specific drug targeting
* Proteomic analysis of yeast and mammalian cell to identify genes that regulate aging and knowledge based pathway building using informatics to understand set of circuits involved human longevity
* Applied recombinant DNA technology for production of commercially important biochemicals

The biotechnology unit of Pharmaceutical Technological Department has been set up with a view to create awareness in the field of pharmaceutical biotechnology. Biotechnology being an interdisciplinary subject and NIPER being an pharmaceutical institute, pharmaceutical biotechnology was thought to be an appropriate subject of teaching and research in this department. The main objective is to pertain training to the students on the different aspects of pharmaceutical biotechnology such as production of high value products though high cell density fermentation, to produce active intermediates through biocatalysis, downstream processing of biomolecules, etc. The unit has taken the initiative to start research activities in the field of biocatalysis to produce enantiomerically pure isomers intended to use as drugs and drug intermediates. The unit runs a full fledged M.Tech. programme in pharmaceutical biotechnology sponsored by the Department of Biotechnology (Govt. of India). The following projects are currently going on

* Production of chiral precursor (S)-1-(2-thienyl) ethanol or (S)-N, N-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-3-(2-thienyl)-propanamine through microbial reduction and their use in the synthesis of chiral drug S (+)-Duloxetine
* Cloning and expression of an acid phosphatase (PHYB) with high phytase activity in yeast
* Purification and characterization of lipase/s for the synthesis of biologically active and enantiomerically pure isomers obtained through enzymatic kinetic resolution of racemates
* Use of nitrilase, a biocatalyst, for the enzymatic kinetic resolution of racemic mixture of pharmaceutically active compounds to enantiomerically pure isomer