Advances in aqueous biphasic systems for biotechnology applications

Abstract Amongst the several processes investigated in the Biotechnology field, aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) have been a target of relevant research, particularly in the downstream processing of value-added compounds of biological nature and, more recently, in emerging applications such as in the development of artificial cells and synthetic biology, micropatterning and 3D printing, and sample pre-treatment and diagnosis. This review overviews and discusses the recent progress achieved in downstream processes employing ABS, namely by the development of integrated and continuous processes, and in the emerging applications where ABS seem to have strong potential, namely in cellular micropatterning and 3D printing, and in the pre-treatment of biological samples to improve diagnosis. Advantages and bottlenecks of ABS in all these applications are provided and discussed.