ISBN: 978-93-94174-14-6

Microbial Biotechnology in Human Health: Emerging Therapeutic Strategies and Biomedical Innovations

Department of Biotechnology, St.Joseph's College (Arts & Science), Kundrathur Main Road, Kovur, Chennai, 600128, India

Microbial biotechnology has emerged as a transformative discipline in modern medicine, offering innovative approaches for disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment through the application of microorganisms and their bioactive products. Advances in molecular biology, genomics, synthetic biology, and precision medicine have significantly expanded the clinical utility of microbial systems, enabling the development of targeted therapeutics and personalized healthcare strategies. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the pivotal role of microbial biotechnology in medicine, highlighting the significance of the human microbiome in maintaining physiological homeostasis and its association with infectious, metabolic, autoimmune, and neurodegenerative disorders. It further explores the therapeutic applications of probiotics, prebiotics, and postbiotics in restoring microbial balance and enhancing host immunity. The chapter discusses the growing importance of microbial metabolites and enzymes as valuable sources of antibiotics, anticancer agents, immunomodulators, thrombolytic agents, diagnostic reagents, and industrial biopharmaceuticals. Emerging technologies, including CRISPR-Cas genome editing systems, microbial biosensors, and engineered microbial platforms, are examined for their contributions to precision medicine, rapid disease diagnosis, and targeted therapeutic interventions. Additionally, the chapter reviews microbial production systems for recombinant vaccines and biopharmaceuticals, emphasizing their role in improving scalability, affordability, and global healthcare preparedness. The potential of bacteriophage therapy as a promising alternative to combat multidrug-resistant bacterial infections is also highlighted. Finally, the chapter addresses future perspectives, including artificial intelligence-driven microbial engineering, synthetic biology, microbiome-based therapeutics, and personalized medicine, while critically discussing the associated clinical, ethical, regulatory, and biosafety challenges. Collectively, microbial biotechnology represents a cornerstone of next-generation medicine, offering sustainable, innovative, and patient-centered solutions for improving global health and advancing precision healthcare.

*Corresponding author; e-mail: lubnasadiyah@gmail.com

Cite this Chapter: Sabarish R., 2026. Microbial Biotechnology in Human Health: Emerging Therapeutic Strategies and Biomedical Innovations. In: M. Prakash and N. Karmegam (Eds.), Microbial Technology for Biomedical and Environmental Applications. Excellent Publishers, India. pp. 51-66. doi: https://doi.org/10.20546/978-93-94174-14-6_5