Foreword: Advances in Polymer/Fibre Biotechnology

[Excerpt] Biotechnology has been applied as a valuable tool to produce useful bio-based products from non-petrochemical renewable resources. Biologically produced polymers present advantages related with the biodegradability, performance, cheapness of substrate and defined structural variability. Beyond that, enzymes, the most proficient catalysts, continue to offer the most competitive processes compared with the chemical ones. Advances in protein engineering technology and the environmental and economic requirements contribute for the continuous search of acceptable biotechnologicalsolutionsfortheareas,including,polymerandtextile, medical,pharmaceutical, amongothers.Newtrendsandstrategieshavebeen highlighted in recent studies leading to significant advances in enzyme biocatalysis. The 9th International Conference on Fiber and Polymer Biotechnology 2016 (IFPB 2016) was held in September 2016 in Osaka Seikei College, Osaka, Japan. IFPB16 was a joint conference with Textile Biotechnology Symposia 2016 (TBS) and the 40th Annual Meeting of Advanced Fiber Materials Research Committee (AFMc). Previous events of IFPB had taken place at: University of Minho, Portugal (INTB 2000); University of Georgia, USA (INTB 2002); Graz University of Technology, Austria (INTB 2004); Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Korea (INTB 2006); Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China(INTB 2007); University ofGent, Belgium (IPTB 2009), Stazione Sperimentale perla Seta, Milan, Italy(IPTB 2011) and University of Minho, Portugal (IPFB 2014). The main topics covered by IFTB 2016 comprised industrial enzymes, natural and bio-based polymers and fibers, biofunctionalization of synthetic materials, sustainable processes, smart materials through bio-catalysis and nano/bio-materials and applications. Richard Gross from the Department ofChemistry andChemicalBiology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA, wasinvited askeynote speaker. His remarkablelecture about “Engineered Cutinases for Textile Polymer Surface Modification and Recycling” provided an excellent opportunity to learn more about the potentialities of cutinases as efficient catalysts. Gross highlighted his recent work related with cutinase redesign, its biophysical and biochemical characterization and ability to recycle polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and cellulose acetate (CA). Thomas Rosenau from University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Austria and Kanji Kajiwara from the Faculty of Textile Science and Technology of Shinshu University in Japan were the invited speakers and enriched the conference with their new insights about cellulosic derivatives and fibers. [...]