The most important research projects of the institute comprise the microbial production of organic compounds for applications in chemical and pharmaceutical industry. Another key aspect is the development of methods for the production of food additive.
Prof. Dr. U. Deppenmeier was a PI within the Boost-fund project "Glufact". The research project involved the analysis of membrane-bound dehydrogenases from bacteria for the production of fine chemicals. Together with the project partners Prof. M. Bott (FZ Jülich) and Prof. J. Büchs RWTH Aachen, the project has laid the foundations for a BMBF-funded successor project that deals with the synthesis of prebiotics and low-calorie sweeteners. In addition, a patent application (Methods of producing 5-ketofructose) has emerged from this project.