Advancing microbial and bioprocess engineering for innovative food and pharmaceutical solutions

Microbial and bioprocess engineering have revolutionized the food and pharmaceutical industries by facilitating the efficient production of crucial components like functional food ingredients, bioactive therapeutics, and precision-fermented proteins. Advances in areas such as synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and process engineering have led to enhanced microbial platforms that demonstrate improved yield, stability, and cost-effectiveness. Additionally, the integration of AI-driven modeling, adaptive laboratory evolution, and innovations in bioreactor technologies has accelerated the industrial application of these engineered microbes, thus narrowing the gap between bench-scale research and large-scale production.

Despite significant advancements, challenges remain in optimizing metabolic pathways, bolstering microbial robustness, and successfully upscaling fermentation processes. To manage these challenges, there is a need for novel engineering strategies, pioneering bioprocess innovations, and efficient downstream processing techniques, all of which aim to boost productivity and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.

This Research Topic aims to explore emerging technologies within microbial and bioprocess engineering pertaining to food and pharmaceutical applications. Our scope encompasses a diverse range of themes that include, but are not limited to:

- Pioneering methods in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering for microbial production of pharmaceuticals and food ingredients
- Bioprocess optimization and scale-up strategies aimed at improving fermentation efficiency and yield
- Development of microbial chassis tailored to meet specific food-grade and pharmaceutical needs
- Integration of AI and computational modeling for precision microbial engineering
- Understanding the regulatory challenges alongside future directions in microbial biomanufacturing.

We encourage the submission of original research, comprehensive reviews, and methodological studies that advance the field of microbial and bioprocess engineering for enhanced food and pharmaceutical applications. Original research, reviews, and methodological studies are invited to enrich this field further.