SINTEF is a multidisciplinary research organisation that finds intelligent, profitable solutions for the public and private sectors' needs based on research and development in technology, the natural sciences, medicine and the social sciences. SINTEF collaborates closely with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the University of Oslo. SINTEF has extensive experience in the coordination and management of national and international research projects, including EU-funded projects. The SINTEF Group includes five legal entities; the SINTEF Foundation with five institutes, and four fully controlled daughter organizations.

SINTEF Materials and Chemistry is one of the institutes constituting the SINTEF Foundation. The Department of Biotechnology, headed by Dr. Trond E. Ellingsen, has develop­ment of biotechnological processes as its main research field, including strain selection and improvement by genetic methods, development of fermentation processes, and downstream processing. The department has a close and integrated collaboration with the Department of Biotechnology at NTNU, with several joint labora­tories. This cooperative research has been a success in many projects, and papers have been published jointly in high ranking journals. In addition, competitive bioprocesses have been developed for the Norwegian industry.

The department is well equipped with a small-scale fermentation laboratory, a robotic high-throughput screening laboratory and an analytical laboratory with a range of GC-MS and LC-MS instruments. The department is partner in two ERA-net projects in microbial systems biology ("SysMo"), where MS-based methods for metabolite analyses and metabolomics are under establishment. The high-throughput screening (HTS) facility includes a robotic colony picking unit, two large liquid handling robotic systems, as well as high capacity incubators and centrifuges for microtiterplates. The HTS-laboratory has been applied in e.g. screening for probiotic bacteria and screening of microbial growth substrates.

SINTEF-MC will be responsible for parts of WP2 and WP3, with metabolite analyses and screening of probiotics and selective growth substrates as main contribution.

Of particular relevance is the participation in collaborative projects with SINTEF-FA on isolation and screening of probiotic bacteria for cod, and on-going projects on fibre degradation and SCFA-formation by the human gut microflora, in collaboration with the Norwegian Food Research Institute.

• Sahlström S, Knutsen SH, Holtekjølen AK, Rudi K, Aasen IM (2007). In vitro fermentation of fibre fractions from barley using human infant faeces as inoculum. In Salovaara et al ., (Ed.), "Dietary fibre components and functions", p. 157-170 . Wageningen Academic Publishers.