Microbial Nanobiotechnology: The
Melting Pot of Microbiology, Microbial
Technology and Nanotechnology
A. Lateef, O. M. Darwesh, and I. A. Matter
1 Introduction
One of the ultimate goals of the life sciences, whether in the past or in the present, is to
solve the problems that face humans to improve the quality of life. From thousands of
years ago, sciences such as chemistry, astronomy, engineering and biology were used
to create great civilizations such as those of ancient Egypt and China, where humans
had many facilities and luxuries that were not available before. Continuing this
noble approach, scientists, either individually or in integrated groups, are working in
a constant challenge to obtain the best results that benefit humanity through expanding
our knowledge of existing sciences as well as the development of new aspects of
sciences. For example, despite the primitive uses of microbial fermentation in ancient
times (in some industries of food and alcoholic beverages), a tangible development
in microbiological science occurred after the use of the optical microscope to see
the microbes in 1676. Later, with the invention of the electron microscope (and
many other modern analytical devices), the study of microbes (that are invisible to
naked human eyes) became more accessible to many scholars all over the world (Ball
et al. 2019). Through the overlap and integration between microbiology and other
sciences, the exploitation of microbes in many technological applications has become
the main feature of the so-called microbial biotechnology. Microbial biotechnology
has allowed microbes to be exploited in the production of many environmentally
friendly products in the medical, industrial and agricultural sectors, as well as the
removal of various pollutants that threaten the sustainability of the environment and
A. Lateef (B)
Laboratory of Industrial Microbiology and Nanobiotechnology, Department of Pure and Applied
Biology, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria
e-mail: alateef@lautech.edu.ng; agbaje72@yahoo.com
O. M. Darwesh · I. A. Matter
Agricultural Microbiology Department, National Research Centre, Elbohouth St, Dokki, Cairo
12622, Egypt
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
A. Lateef et al. (eds.), Microbial Nanobiotechnology, Materials Horizons: From Nature
to Nanomaterials, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4777-9_1
1
Melting Pot of Microbiology, Microbial
Technology and Nanotechnology
A. Lateef, O. M. Darwesh, and I. A. Matter
1 Introduction
One of the ultimate goals of the life sciences, whether in the past or in the present, is to
solve the problems that face humans to improve the quality of life. From thousands of
years ago, sciences such as chemistry, astronomy, engineering and biology were used
to create great civilizations such as those of ancient Egypt and China, where humans
had many facilities and luxuries that were not available before. Continuing this
noble approach, scientists, either individually or in integrated groups, are working in
a constant challenge to obtain the best results that benefit humanity through expanding
our knowledge of existing sciences as well as the development of new aspects of
sciences. For example, despite the primitive uses of microbial fermentation in ancient
times (in some industries of food and alcoholic beverages), a tangible development
in microbiological science occurred after the use of the optical microscope to see
the microbes in 1676. Later, with the invention of the electron microscope (and
many other modern analytical devices), the study of microbes (that are invisible to
naked human eyes) became more accessible to many scholars all over the world (Ball
et al. 2019). Through the overlap and integration between microbiology and other
sciences, the exploitation of microbes in many technological applications has become
the main feature of the so-called microbial biotechnology. Microbial biotechnology
has allowed microbes to be exploited in the production of many environmentally
friendly products in the medical, industrial and agricultural sectors, as well as the
removal of various pollutants that threaten the sustainability of the environment and
A. Lateef (B)
Laboratory of Industrial Microbiology and Nanobiotechnology, Department of Pure and Applied
Biology, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria
e-mail: alateef@lautech.edu.ng; agbaje72@yahoo.com
O. M. Darwesh · I. A. Matter
Agricultural Microbiology Department, National Research Centre, Elbohouth St, Dokki, Cairo
12622, Egypt
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
A. Lateef et al. (eds.), Microbial Nanobiotechnology, Materials Horizons: From Nature
to Nanomaterials, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4777-9_1
1