At the end of the 20th century, a tremendous progress was made in biotechnology in its
widest sense. This progress was largely possible as a result of joint efforts of top
academic researchers in both pure fundamental sciences and applied research. The
surplus value of such interdisciplinary approaches was clearly highlighted during the
9th European Congress on Biotechnology that was held in Brussels, Belgium (11-15
July, 1999).
The present volume in the ‘Focus on Biotechnology’ series, entiteld ‘Physics and
Chemistry Basis for Biotechnology’ contains selected presentations from this meeting,
A collection of experts has made serious efforts to present some of the latest
developments in various scientific fields and to unveil prospective evolutions on the
threshold of the new millenium. In all contributions the emphasis is on emerging new
areas of research in which physicochemical principles form the foundation.