Laboratories of the Department of Biotechnology Engineering

The seven-month internship program is the symbol of our department and the peak of our students’ academic journey. Mandatory for every student, it places them within leading companies, research institutes, and biotechnology organizations, where they work on real-world projects that integrate the knowledge and skills gained throughout their degree. This is where classroom learning transforms into professional contribution, preparing our graduates to enter the workforce as confident, industry-ready engineers.

Reaching this stage is possible thanks to the broad and intensive laboratory training that accompanies students throughout their studies. Our modern labs, equipped with advanced instrumentation, provide hands-on experience in small groups and cover a wide range of fields—from chemistry and physics to microbiology, molecular biology, food and environmental sciences, pharmaceutical technologies, industrial pilot processes, bioreactors, pharmacology, immunology, and diagnostics.

In addition, students may take part in faculty-supervised research projects within the department’s research labs (See below), gaining exposure to cutting-edge equipment and deeper insight into the world of biotechnology and applied research.

The pilot laboratory is a semi-industrial lab designed to simulate a real manufacturing facility on a smaller scale. It provides students with a significant advantage by allowing them to operate industrial equipment during their studies, rather than encountering it for the first time in the field.

One of the key instruments in the lab is a tubular pasteurizer. Students learn the importance of the pasteurization process and the critical role this device plays in preserving food products. By studying the system and controlling parameters such as temperature and residence time, each student gains hands-on experience in regulating and monitoring the pasteurization of various products. After the pasteurization process, microbial testing is conducted on the samples, reinforcing the essential link between engineering work and microbiological analysis.

Another notable device is the spray dryer, commonly used in the food industry and increasingly applied in advanced biotechnology processes such as enzyme drying.

In addition, students are introduced to membrane filtration systems, which are a core component in the food, chemical, and biotechnology industries. They study the difference between compressible and incompressible filter cakes, measure cake and filter resistance, and analyze how the increasing resistance of the cake affects the filtration rate.

The lab is also equipped with several types of reactors, including enzymatic reactors and ideal continuous reactors. Students even construct a non-ideal reactor, gaining practical understanding of how these systems function and are integrated into industrial processes.

Another area covered in the pilot lab is the science of emulsions, including formulation techniques used in the cosmetics industry. Students work with various types of homogenizers, including high-pressure homogenizers, gaining a deeper understanding of the composition of everyday products.

This lab ties together all the knowledge and skills students have acquired since their first semester, bringing it to life through hands-on work with engineering equipment. It serves as a critical bridge between academic study and real-world industrial application.

The Department of Biotechnology Engineering operates a cell culture laboratory classified at Biosafety Level 2 (BL2).

Work in a biological laboratory involves potential exposure to various types of hazards, depending on the nature of the samples and the specific procedures being performed.

Biological hazards (biohazards) may result from infectious microorganisms or materials derived from them, which can cause disease in humans or harm to the environment. These hazards include bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites, toxins, human blood and body fluids, cancer cell lines, wild animals, and laboratory animals. Biological risks are classified based on their level of severity.

According to the 2001 Laboratory Safety Regulations issued by the Israeli Ministry of Labor and Industry, biological laboratories are classified into four biosafety levels, designated BL1 to BL4 (Biosafety Level). In the Department of Biotechnology Engineering, the BL2 cell culture lab is approved for work with cancer cell lines, which are categorized under Biosafety Level 2.

Biosafety Level 2 is suitable for working with agents that pose a moderate risk to humans and animals and require specific safety measures to protect lab personnel and the environment.

The Cell Culture Laboratory is used for both undergraduate and graduate teaching, as well as for research purposes. It provides students with hands-on experience in cell culture techniques within a controlled and safe environment.

The Formulation Laboratory is a unique facility that simulates a pharmaceutical R&D lab, focusing on the development of solid formulations such as powder blends, granules, and tablets. Within this lab, students gain both theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience with various technologies used in tablet production, as well as the methods for evaluating different tablet properties.

The laboratory is equipped with a wide array of instruments used for preparing solid mixtures, grinding, wet granulation, drying, and compressing tablets with different physical characteristics. It also includes equipment for testing the final product’s properties, such as hardness, moisture content, disintegration rate, and the release rate of the active pharmaceutical ingredient.

This lab plays a key role in helping students understand the language of pharmaceutical formulation and trains them to integrate into the pharmaceutical industry as biotechnology engineers, particularly in formulation development and analytical laboratories.

The animal facility at the college enables department faculty to conduct research involving small animals (rodents and rabbits), in accordance with the Israeli Animal Welfare Law (1994).

All activities in the facility are conducted in full compliance with Israeli legal requirements, under the supervision of both an institutional and national ethics committee, as well as a licensed veterinarian. Only certified researchers, and students or interns who have been trained by the supervising veterinarian, are authorized to carry out research within the facility.

Over the past decade, research conducted in the animal facility has focused primarily on targeted drug delivery to the brain and behavioral models in mice, aimed at studying memory, learning, anxiety, social behavior, and more. These models are used to explore neural pathways involved in psychiatric disorders and symptoms, and to develop new therapeutic approaches.

In addition to teaching laboratories, the Department of Biotechnology Engineering houses several research laboratories, each equipped with multiple workstations for researchers. These labs feature advanced scientific equipment and are led by faculty members conducting cutting-edge research that impacts various aspects of our world.

Some of the research is conducted in collaboration with local and international laboratories and is supported by funding from major research foundations, including the European Union, the Israel Science Foundation (ISF), the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the ISEF Foundation.

The department includes three dedicated research laboratories:

• The first lab focuses on chemistry-related research, including organic medicinal chemistry, environmental chemistry, and nanotechnology.
• The second lab specializes in molecular biology, environmental biology, plant tissue culture, and microbiology
• The third lab is dedicated to tissue engineering and animal cell cultures. A specialized culture room has been constructed within this lab to support research in cell culture

In addition, the department operates a dedicated BSL-2 cell culture laboratory, used for both in vitro and in vivo research, and fully equipped for safe and advanced biological experimentation.

The college also maintains a certified animal facility, accredited by the Israeli National Animal Experimentation Council.

During their studies, students have the opportunity to participate in research projects in these labs. These projects can be completed for academic credit as part of their degree and allow students to gain practical experience with advanced research processes and specialized equipment not available in the teaching laboratories.