Team:Tec-Monterrey/Headquarters

Our headquarters for the development of this project were the facilities at the Center for Biotechnology FEMSA at Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) in Monterrey, Mexico. At this center, we were kindly given access to the Laboratory of Genetic Manipulation and Molecular Diagnostics, which became our main workplace throughout the summer. It was in this laboratory that we had all the necessary equipment to perform most of our experiments: extractions, electrophoresis, ligations, digestions and purifications, as well as to carry out the necessary research for the development of the project.

We also had access to the Fifth Floor Research Facilities at the Biotechnology Center, where we performed the part of the project that demanded much more sophisticated equipment, such as transformations, quantifications and fluorescence assays.

Additionaly, part of our work had to be done at the ITESM School of Medicine, namely the preparation of electrocompetent cells.

The Center for Biotechnology FEMSA

This Center, located at Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) in Monterrey, Mexico, is devoted to the generation of research, the transference of knowledge and the modelling of new business schemes that involve biotechnology and alimentary areas. For such reasons, it is equiped with cutting-edge infraestructure in laboratories, pilot plants and business incubators.

The Center emerged 15 years ago as a response to the increasing tendency in scientific and technologic innovation in the country and the whole world and through time it has supported the following lines of research, all focused in the innovation of products, processes and services:

1. Food Biotechnology:
• Study of biomolecules found in Mexican plants and foods with therapeutic properties.
• Development and optimization of new food products and processes.
2. Bioprocess Engineering:
• Design, scalling and optimization of biotechnological processes.
3. Pharmaceutical and Medical Biotechnology:
• Development and validation of new drugs.
• Molecular diagnostic of diseases.
• Culture and differentiation of tissues.
4. Biological Chemistry:
• Isolation and characterization of biologically active compounds.
• Synthesis of new drugs
• Design of new materials with applications in the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries.

Some of the strategic partners of the center are:

• Cambridge University, UK
• Texas A&M University
• Cornell University
• Arizona State University
• University of California (San Diego y Davis)
• Carnegie Mellon University

Some of the achievements of the center are:

• More than 14 patent requests.
• More than 250 papers published in journals with high indexing level.
• 3 published books.
• 12 book chapters
• 30 researches, of which, more than 70% belong to the National System of Researchers.