Medical Biotechnology 1200-1CHMBIMW5

Medical biotechnology uses practical aspects of experimental biology - cell biology and molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, genetic, cell and tissue engineering, molecular medicine, and bioinformatics. During the lecture, students will learn the basics of creating materials, biomaterials, medicinal substances, therapeutic systems, and technologies applicable to the treatment and diagnosis of diseases. These issues will be presented in a broad context in which medical biotechnology will be placed as the focal point of biotechnology in human life. The aim of the lecture is to signal both the historical background of the development of biotechnology, in particular in medical applications, as well as present the current knowledge in the field of the use of theoretical achievements in the treatment and diagnosis of diseases.
The lecture will start with an introduction to biotechnology, and the division of biotechnology in terms of practical aspects in which it is of key importance. In the next part, the basic issues of biochemistry, microbiology, and cell biology will be outlined, also against the background of the basics of chemical technology. The following issues will be widely discussed: (i) pharmacology and the production of pharmaceutical substances using biotechnological methods, (ii) gene therapy and the prospects of its use in the treatment of diseases and the creation of genetically modified organisms, (iii) the use and production of stem cells, in particular in terms of improving quality of life as well as the treatment of disease. Then, the use of biotechnology in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine as well as basic issues in the field of immunology and vaccines in medical biotechnology applications will be presented. The last part of the lecture will be devoted to the contemporary achievements of nanobiotechnology, bioinformatics, as well as issues related to ethics.