AFOB Newsletter

Our mission

The NBB Division of AFOB aims to establish an scientific exchange and international collaboration network for Asian scientist who are working in the field of nanobiotechnology, biosensors and biochips. The Division serves as a platform for its members to jointly answer the unsolved scientific questions, deal with the emerging challenges, create next generation technologies, and promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements to upgrading the industrial capability. Our activities will give impetus to the development of biotechnology in Asia and global.

Our research interests

As its name suggests, we are interested in developing nanobiotechnology, biosensors and biochips, which may summarized as the advanced analytical biotechnology and nanobiotechnology that cover wide range of connotations, from marvelous natural biological nanosystems to artificial biological tools and systems. We strive to integrate the knowledges and tools to promote scientific development and give back to the human society.

Board Member of NBB Division

Activities of NBB Division in 2015

The first NBB division board meeting was held in Hangzhou on April 8, 2015, during the China Nanomedicine 2015 Conference. Co-chaired by Professor Xian-En Zhang and Professor Tai Hyun Park

From left to right: Mengsu (Micheal) Yang, Xian-En Zhang, Man Bock Gu, Tai Hyun Park, Eiichi Tamiya, Mei Jywan Syu, and Ning Gu.

- NBB division cosponsored the 2nd International Conference on Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology (China Nanomedicine 2015), which was held on April 6-9 in Hangzhou, China (www.nanomedicine.cn). Co-chaired by Professor Xian-En Zhang

- The First Asian Symposium of Nanobiotechnology was held in Nagoya, during Japan Society of Applied Physics 2015. The symposium was organized by Eiichi Tamiya. Three NBB members (Ning Gu, Man Bock Gu and Xian-En Zhang) attended the events.

- NBB division organized AFOB-EFB Joint Symposium on NBB, which was held in Kuala Lumpur on November 18, 2015, during ACB 2015.

NBB division board meeting was held on November 18, 2015, during ACB 2015 in Kuala Lumpur

Activities of NBB Division in 2016

- NBB Symposium at KSBB(The Korean Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering) Spring meeting. Date: April 21, 2016; Gyeongju, Korea, Chairs：Prof. Tai Hyun Park and Prof Man Bock Gu

- NBB Symposium at BEST meeting. June 25, 2016; National Central Univ, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Chair: Professor Wen-Yih Chen

- AFOB session on Convergence Biotechnoogy at IBS 2016 (www.ibs2016.org). Organized by Professor Tai Hyun Park, Date: October 25, 2016. Venue: Melbourne Convention Centre, Melbourne, Australia

- The Second Asian Symposium on NanoBiotechnology, organized by NBB, Suzhou China, October, 2016
Co-chairs: Professor Ning Gu and Professor Xian-En Zhang

Activities of NBB Division in 2018

- EFB-AFOB Joint Session on Nanobiotechnology, Geneva, Switzerland, July 4, 2018. Organizers: Tai Hyun Park and Christophe Moreau

- International Symposium on Nanobiotechnology, Biosensors and Biochips, Hong Kong, December 14, 2018. Professor Michael Yang Chaired the symposium and the NBB cochairs Professors Tai Hyun Park and Xian-En Zhang and other NBB division members attended the symposium.

Activities of NBB Division in 2019

- BBN/NBB China Forum, Jinan, China, May 25, 2019. The forum is organized by BBN Division of Chinese Society of Biotechnology. Professor Xian-En Zhang is the founder and chair of the Forum. The NBB is cosponsor.

- AFOB-EFB Joint Symposium on Nanobiotechnology, Tamsui, Taiwan, July 3, 2019. Organized by Tai Hyun Park and Christophe Moreau

Activities of NBB Division in 2020

- Contribution of NBB Division to AFOB Newsletter - special issue for COVID-19 pandemic (Vol. 8, April, 2020)

Abbas Ghulam, Mengmeng Cui, Dianbing Wang, Xian-En Zhang, "Development of vaccine against SARS-Cov-2 in P. R. China"

Jin Song, Dianbing Wang, Xian-En Zhang, "China's protocol of nucleic acid/immune combined assay for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2"

Activities of NBB Division in 2021

Upcoming Events

- November 3, 2021
NBB Division Session, AFOB Virtual Conference
Organized by Prof. Tai Hyun Park and Prof. Xian-En Zhang Theme: Biomolecules and Cells Combined with Advanced Devices

- November, 2021
BBN China 2021 (Dalian)
AFOB NBB Division is to serve as a co-sponsor with the Division of Biosensors/Biochips/Nanobiotechnology, Chinese Society of Biotechnology.

1. Past event

Co-organized event
International Virtual Session on "Downstream Process of Biologics"

September 22, Wednesday, 16:00-17:30
Organized by
Biochemical Engineering Division, The Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan (SCEJ)
Bioprocess and Bioseparation Engineering Division, Asian Federation of Biotechnology (AFOB)
Downstream Processing Section, European Society of Biochemical Engineering Sciences (ESBES)

Implementation of QbD and PAT in Bioprocessing
Anurag Rathore, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, India

Modeling the impact of amino acid substitution in a monoclonal antibody on cation exchange chromatography - A case study using mechanistic modeling and protein surface analysis
David Saleh, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma, Germany

Continuous downstream process of antibody- Process development, optimization and verification
David Saleh, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma, Germany
*Manufacturing Technology Association of Biologics(MAB), **Yamguchi University
The number of participants 64 (10-20 from AFOB)

2. Future event

The 2021 AFOB Virtual Conference
BBE Session – "Bioprocessing for sustainable societies"

13:00 – 15:00, November 2 (Tuesday), 2021
Session Chairs: Seung Wook Kim and Shuichi Yamamoto

"Biorefinery of lignocellulosic biomass: Progress, challenges and strategies for solutions"
Prof. Fengwu Bai, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Mainland China

"Biohydrogen from molasses – from laboratory to pilot plant"
Prof. Alissara Reungsang, Khon Kaen University, Thailand

"Continuous protein refolding using simulated moving bed chromatography"
Prof. Yoon-Mo Koo, Inha University, Korea

"Enhanced Production of Soluble Single-chain Fv antibody (scFv) using Recombinant Escherichia coli by Dissoved Oxygen (DO)-stat Fed-batch Culture"
Prof. Junichi Horiuchi, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan

""Managing product quality attributes of biosimilars"
Prof. Anurag S. Rathore, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India

Bioenergy and Biorefinery Board Members

BEB Book Project (2020-2022)

- Book details: Abd-Aziz et al. (Eds.): Biorefinery of Oil Producing Plants for Value-Added Products, ISBN 978-3-527-34876-3 (In Press). Wiley-VCH.

Chief Editors: Prof Ts Dr Suraini Abd-Aziz & Prof Dr-Ing Misri Gozan
Editors: Assoc Prof Ts Dr Mohamad Faizal Ibrahim & Assoc Prof Dr Lai-Yee Phang
- Target publish date: January 2022

BEB Website

- BEB Division already launch new website at https://bebdivision.wordpress.com/
- BEB Web Master: Assoc Prof Ts Dr Mohamad Faizal Ibrahim (Universiti Putra Malaysia)
- Feel free to browse BEB Division current update and activities

Thai Society for Biotechnology International Online (TSB Online) 2021, Bangkok Thailand

- TSB Online 2021 was held on April 2, 2021.
- Chaired by Assoc Prof Dr Penjit Srinophkun under BEB division activity

The Singapore Society for Microbiology and Biotechnology is the professional society representing microbiologists and biotechnologists in Singapore. The 47th Annual General Meeting of the SSMB was held on 24 August 2020 virtually. There were two invited talks on (1) "Leapfrogging COVID-19 vaccine development" by Prof Ooi Eng Eong, Duke-NUS Medical School, and (2) “The ecology of desert microbes – from Earth to Mars” by Prof Stephen Pointing, Yale-NUS College, NUS.

SSMB also sponsored a Special award in Microbiology for deserving students during the annual Singapore Science & Engineering Fair (SSEF) on 31 March 2021. Out of 12 competitive presentations, one project was short-listed and judged by SSMB council members to be the top in term of clarity, enthusiasm and understanding of the work. Three students from Raffles Institution were awarded a 3-year student membership to SSMB. Other than that, SSMB has also challenged NUS undergraduates to write an essay on topics of interest related to microbiology. These includes topics on Neglected Tropical Diseases, Sustainability, food microbiology and others. Nine selected pieces are left unedited to reflect students’ personal views, and has been published on the SSMB webpage. Authors have been granted a 1-year membership to SSMB as a token of appreciation.

A seminar on Soleris Ng Rapid Microbial Testing System “Microbiology at the speed of Light” is jointly organised by Singapore Society for Microbiology and Biotechnology (SSMB), Neogen (USA) and Chokim Scientific (S) Pte Ltd on 23 April 2021. The talk was well-received including over 40 participants from Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Korea. The speaker is Mr Jason Kircos, who has played a key role in the development of the Soleris NG platform for real-time microbiology testing.