The overriding common goal is to develop biotechnical processes for the production of pharmaceutical and chemical products.

In this context IBT-1 addresses microbiological, biochemical and genetic research topics. Of particular interest are enzymes for the conversion of substrates as well as microorganisms for the production of L-amino acids, other organic acids and vitamins. Metabolic activities are determined in vivo with the aid of NMR spectroscopy for the understanding of metabolite fluxes. Moreover, investigations are carried out on the regulation of the synthesis and transport of extracellular proteins in Gram-positive bacteria.

IBT-2 is concerned with reaction- and process-engineering aspects of biotechnology. This includes the use of microorganisms for the production of primary metabolites (e.g. amino acids) as well as microorganisms and mammalian cells for the production of proteins. Stationary as well as dynamic fermentation experiments serve to quantify detailed microbial metabolic models for targeted strain development. Enzyme-catalysed and classical steps are combined for the synthesis of chiral building blocks and active ingredients.