April 2009
Published by the American Chemical Society
Volume 10, Number 4
Copyright 2009 by the American Chemical Society
Editorial
Recent Developments in the Area of Biological Polyesters: ISBP 2008 Last November, Professor Bernd Rehm, Massey University, New Zealand, was chairperson and organizer for the International Symposium on Biological Polyesters (ISPB 2008). He succeeded in gathering 115 delegates from 18 different countries to his home university. It was the first time the conference was organized in the Southern hemisphere, and it really demonstrated the increasing interest in biological polyesters. The symposium program covered a wide range of interdisciplinary research involving biology, biotechnology, medicine, physics, chemistry, polymer science, and chemical engineering. Highlights of the conference were, for example, polylactat biosyntheses, PHA biofuels, PHA micro/nanobeads, PHA production in sugar cane, and PHAs as biomaterials for medical applications. It is apparent that a lot of very advanced research is going on and that the number of applications is increasing. In this issue of Biomacromolecules we are presenting a few selected papers from the conference, and we hope they will give you an insight of the latest developments in biological polyesters research.
Ann-Christine Albertsson BM9002333
10.1021/bm9002333 CCC: $40.75 2009 American Chemical Society Published on Web 03/04/2009
