Editorial [to Engineering in Life Sciences, 15(6), 2015]

[Excerpt] Biotechnology has become an important area for the production of smart materials under environmentally friendly conditions. On the one hand, microorganisms can produce polymers where novel strategies in biotechnology allow tuning of their composition and consequently their properties. On the other hand, enzymes are increasingly used both to replace toxic chemicals in processing of materials as well as for targeted surface modification. The detailed characterization of microbial polymers and the screening for their producers is an important aspect in this context which is therefore carefully reviewed in this issue for the most promising candidates (e.g. polyhydroxyalcanoates, PHAs). [...