Molecular Pharming and Bioproduction

Overview

We are researchers from multidisciplinary areas working together for the productions of biopharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals or functional foods, research and diagnostic reagents, industrial metabolites and biochemicals integrated with systematic manufacturing processes for commercial, medical and scientific reasons. The ultimate aim of producing these products is to improve general health and well-being of humans, animals and plants towards achieving a sustainable future. MPharmBio has well-established linkages with national and international partners in industry, academia and research institutions.

Group Mission

Molecular Pharming and Bioproduction (MPharmBio) Research Group signifies the formation of a unique consortium which enhances innovative technology transfer, capacity building and sustainability leading to transformative multidisciplinary research and development in order to bring out high value bioproducts from the laboratory to the market ultimately. The bioproducts that have direct relevance to social welfare and economic development are our key focus.

• Consortium: Officiating collaboration amongst experts in molecular pharming and bioproduction research and innovation.
• Innovative technology transfer: Gathering multidisciplinary expertise for the advancement of proprietary expression and bioprocessing technologies.
• Capacity building: Gaining full access to comprehensive collaborators’ facilities to expedite research progress and development of integrated research and manufacturing facilities for generating high value bioproducts.
• Sustainability: Achieving sustainable links between the research group and other universities, research institutions, government bodies and industries to facilitate the development of an internationally recognized Centre of Excellence at UNMC in near future.

Current Projects

 Biopharmaceuticals

• Improvement of agroinfiltration using plant virus and/or binary vector systems as plant-based biopharmaceutical proteins production platform - Prof Dr Sandy Loh
• Plant-made chicken anemia virus VP3 (apoptin) fusion proteins as an alternative cancer therapeutic candidate  - Prof Dr Sandy Loh
• Development of plant-based vaccine candidates of avian influenza viruses as a pandemic preparedness strategy - Prof Dr Sandy Loh
• Plant molecular pharming of consensus envelope glycoprotein domain III (EDIII) as vaccine candidates against dengue viral serotypes - Prof Dr Sandy Loh & Dr Chee Mun Fang
• Salmonella live vector as a carrier for vaccine development against various infectious diseases - Dr Chee Mun Fang
• Development of enhanced fitness Salmonella live vector carrier vaccine using Toxoplasma gondii antigens as a model candidate - Dr Chee Mun Fang
• Designing novel antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) based on sequence-activity relationship - Dr Cheng Foh Le
• Improvement of in vivo synthesis and expression of AMPs - Dr Cheng Foh Le
• Designing therapeutically enhanced synthetic peptide analogues to be used as antibiotic candidates - Dr Cheng Foh Le
• Development of lentivirus as a gene delivery vector for the transduction of hematopoietic stem cells for β-thalassemia gene therapy - Dr Eunice Ngai

 Technical Reagents

• Production of cost-effective antigens for biosensors development - Prof Dr Sandy Loh

 Industrial Metabolites and Biochemicals

• Improved downstream processing through phase formation and biomolecular partitioning in aqueous two-phase flotation - Dr Pau Loke Show
• Production of biopolymer through a green technique based on extractive bioconversion aqueous two-phase system - Dr Pau Loke Show
• Ionic liquids-based aqueous two-phase systems for microbial lipase extraction - Dr Pau Loke Show
• Production of bioenergy from microalgae - Dr Pau Loke Show
• Production of essential oil for use in perfumery through tissue culture of Michelia champaca - Dr Chiew Foan Chin
• Production of man-made enzymes for carbon capture - Dr Phei Li Lau
• Purification and characterization of microbial metabolites by using fast protein liquid chromatography and proteomic approach - Dr Yin Sze Lim

• Production of a flavor compound, vanillin through biolistic transformation of Capsicum frutescens callus - Dr Chiew Foan Chin

Events

• Prof Dr Sandy Loh and Dr Chee Mun Fang were selected to participate and present their researches in The UK-Malaysia Vaccinology Workshop (1^st-4^th August 2016) which was jointly organized by The Pirbright Institute, UK and University Putra Malaysia, funded under British Council (Newton) Researcher Links Programme. This workshop was aimed to build long-term and sustainable links between scientists in the UK and Malaysia working on veterinary vaccines. Prof Loh’s talk delivered on the first day, i.e. 1^st August 2016 was “Developing plant-based vaccines against deadly viral diseases”. Dr Fang’s talk entitled “Development of enhanced fitness Salmonella live vector carrier vaccine using Toxoplasma gondii antigens as a model candidate” was delivered on 3^rd August 2016.
• Prof Dr Sandy Loh was invited by UTAR, Perak Campus, Kampar as a Plenary Speaker to present a research-based lecture in The Intervarsity Scientific Symposium on 13^th August 2016. The title of the plenary lecture was "Plants as green biofactories for therapeutics and vaccines".
• Dr Pau Loke Show has participated and presented his research in PRES’16 Conference (28^th-31^st August 2016, Praque, Czech Republic) and the 11^th SDEWES Conference (4^th-9^th September 2016, Lisbon, Portugal) which were jointly organized by European Federation of Chemical Engineering, American Institute of Chemical Engineers and Czech Society of Chemical Engineering. These conferences were aimed to provide engineers, scientists, researchers, technologists and others with a platform to present their latest findings, exchange ideas, initiate contacts and establish new collaborations. The titles of his papers presented were “Amino acids recovery from swiftlets (Aerodramus fuciphagus) guano employing aqueous two phase system (ATPS)”, “Effective protein separation from microalgae based on simple solvents extraction technology” and “Sustainable and effective proteins release from microalgae cells based on simple solvents extraction technique: a case study of total protein release from microalgae”.
• In early 2016, Dr Pau Loke Show was awarded a national grant called Prototype Development Research Grant Scheme (PRGS). This project focuses on the development of an efficient recovery and downstream process of valuable bioproducts using aqueous two-phase flotation at industrial scale. With the success of this grant, Dr Show is able to up-scale the new downstream processing method which could be made beneficial to biotechnology industries in near future.