ID:
509957
Duration (hours):
52
CFU:
6
SSD:
CHIMICA E BIOTECNOLOGIA DELLE FERMENTAZIONI
Year:
2025
Overview
Date/time interval
Primo Semestre (29/09/2025 - 16/01/2026)
Syllabus
Course Objectives
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
-This course aims at providing students with the tools and knowledge necessary to analyze and develop a research project in the biocatalysis sector;
- the lab training will provide students with the basics for setting-up and monitoring a simple enzymatic reaction as well as for product downstream. Furthermore, the lab activities will train students about the safety standards of chemical-biological laboratories.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
As a result, students are expected to be able to:
-critically analyze, understand, and discuss a biocatalytic process reported in literature as well as to propose original ideas and new solutions for the obtainment of a bioactive molecule/intermediate by a biocatalytic approach;
-report the experimental results obtained during the lab training by drafting original protocols that are clear, complete, and reproducible;
-communicate and share ideas and information in a clear and focused way.
The interactive organization of lectures, mostly based on the discussion of pre-industrial/industrial case studies, as well as the organization of students in teams during the lab training are expected to enhance the critical thinking as well as the attitude of students towards team working. Through team working, students are encouraged to experience the importance of peer review for problem analysis and problem solving that can assist them in achieving the assigned task/the goal laid out.
-This course aims at providing students with the tools and knowledge necessary to analyze and develop a research project in the biocatalysis sector;
- the lab training will provide students with the basics for setting-up and monitoring a simple enzymatic reaction as well as for product downstream. Furthermore, the lab activities will train students about the safety standards of chemical-biological laboratories.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
As a result, students are expected to be able to:
-critically analyze, understand, and discuss a biocatalytic process reported in literature as well as to propose original ideas and new solutions for the obtainment of a bioactive molecule/intermediate by a biocatalytic approach;
-report the experimental results obtained during the lab training by drafting original protocols that are clear, complete, and reproducible;
-communicate and share ideas and information in a clear and focused way.
The interactive organization of lectures, mostly based on the discussion of pre-industrial/industrial case studies, as well as the organization of students in teams during the lab training are expected to enhance the critical thinking as well as the attitude of students towards team working. Through team working, students are encouraged to experience the importance of peer review for problem analysis and problem solving that can assist them in achieving the assigned task/the goal laid out.
Course Prerequisites
This course is intended for students who have achieved the final stage of their education programme and are thus ready to apply the theoretical knowledge acquired to date to the development of autonomous and original ideas for the proposal/optimization of industrial projects concerning biotechnological processes/products.
To attend this course, a sound background in organic chemistry and biochemistry is required.
To attend this course, a sound background in organic chemistry and biochemistry is required.
Teaching Methods
Lectures (CFU 5) will be supported by slides. Seminars of experts from both University/research centres and chemical companies could be also given. Case-studies from scientific literature will be presented and discussed.
Lab training (CFU 1). Students are required to record the experimental activities carried out during the lab training in a personal lab notebook, according to the template provided. Lab attendance is mandatory (roll call and tutorship tracking app).
For students with specific needs, who cannot attend in person the teaching activities and who have applied for Inclusive Teaching Methods, teaching material suitable for a profitable independent study will be available. If requested, self-learning can be supported by tutoring activities of integrative teaching, and by dedicated meetings, also online, with flexible hours according to needs.
Lab training (CFU 1). Students are required to record the experimental activities carried out during the lab training in a personal lab notebook, according to the template provided. Lab attendance is mandatory (roll call and tutorship tracking app).
For students with specific needs, who cannot attend in person the teaching activities and who have applied for Inclusive Teaching Methods, teaching material suitable for a profitable independent study will be available. If requested, self-learning can be supported by tutoring activities of integrative teaching, and by dedicated meetings, also online, with flexible hours according to needs.
Assessment Methods
Students will be examined by an oral exam aimed at verifying the achievement of the learning objectives laid out.
MODE: students are required to organize themselves as a research team (max 3 people/team), and to analyze a paper pre-selected by the professors along with an experimental protocol from the selected paper.
The team is required to:
-prepare a 5-minute presentation (flask talk) which resumes the highlights of the selected paper (background, aim, methods and results, conclusions). A scientific discussion with the exam Committee will follow.
-plan the execution of the analyzed protocol by reporting in the team lab notebook the procedure which the team would apply in order to perform this experiment. As a general scheme, the team should report in the lab notebook the reaction, the amounts and ratios of reactants used, taking into account the reaction scale and specific preparations of the reagents (if any), the equipment, reaction monitoring, setting intermediate and final endpoints, and measuring the final output(s) (e.g. conversion, yield, downstream, analytical characterization etc.).
Students are also requested to consider how they would organize and archive the collected data (reporting) as well as the repository of the product(s) obtained.
In the pre-exam stage, each team member should analyze the paper and the protocol individually. The result of the individual analysis should be then discussed within the team (peer review). The review within the team would result in the final presentation and in the final procedure that will be delivered to the exam Committee and discussed, thereof. The team as a whole is responsible for the presentation and the procedure discussed with the Committee. Each team member must have a role in the presentation/discussion with the exam Committee.
Appropriate examination methods are provided for students who fall into the categories of Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) and Special Educational Needs (SEN).
EVALUATION CRITERIA: individual assessment of the contribution of each student to the analysis and elaboration of both the paper and the experimental protocol. Correctness of contents, completeness of answers, property of language, and knowledge of technical terminology will be assessed.
Specifically, the evaluation will take into account to what extent the student will be able to understand and describe the issues related to the case-study as well as to propose original ideas for solving problems that might emerge from the discussion of the case-study.
The individual evaluation will be integrated with the evaluation of the overall work of the team. The exam will be passed if students achieve a grade in the 18-30 cum laude range.
A positive evaluation in the laboratory training (pass/fail and 100% attendance) is mandatory to be admitted to the final exam.
MODE: students are required to organize themselves as a research team (max 3 people/team), and to analyze a paper pre-selected by the professors along with an experimental protocol from the selected paper.
The team is required to:
-prepare a 5-minute presentation (flask talk) which resumes the highlights of the selected paper (background, aim, methods and results, conclusions). A scientific discussion with the exam Committee will follow.
-plan the execution of the analyzed protocol by reporting in the team lab notebook the procedure which the team would apply in order to perform this experiment. As a general scheme, the team should report in the lab notebook the reaction, the amounts and ratios of reactants used, taking into account the reaction scale and specific preparations of the reagents (if any), the equipment, reaction monitoring, setting intermediate and final endpoints, and measuring the final output(s) (e.g. conversion, yield, downstream, analytical characterization etc.).
Students are also requested to consider how they would organize and archive the collected data (reporting) as well as the repository of the product(s) obtained.
In the pre-exam stage, each team member should analyze the paper and the protocol individually. The result of the individual analysis should be then discussed within the team (peer review). The review within the team would result in the final presentation and in the final procedure that will be delivered to the exam Committee and discussed, thereof. The team as a whole is responsible for the presentation and the procedure discussed with the Committee. Each team member must have a role in the presentation/discussion with the exam Committee.
Appropriate examination methods are provided for students who fall into the categories of Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) and Special Educational Needs (SEN).
EVALUATION CRITERIA: individual assessment of the contribution of each student to the analysis and elaboration of both the paper and the experimental protocol. Correctness of contents, completeness of answers, property of language, and knowledge of technical terminology will be assessed.
Specifically, the evaluation will take into account to what extent the student will be able to understand and describe the issues related to the case-study as well as to propose original ideas for solving problems that might emerge from the discussion of the case-study.
The individual evaluation will be integrated with the evaluation of the overall work of the team. The exam will be passed if students achieve a grade in the 18-30 cum laude range.
A positive evaluation in the laboratory training (pass/fail and 100% attendance) is mandatory to be admitted to the final exam.
Texts
Slides used during lectures can be downloaded from the Kiro website.
Videos and scientific papers will also be available in Kiro.
Communications/notices to the students will be posted in Kiro, too.
Reference books:
K. Faber. “Biotransformations in Organic Chemistry – A textbook”, Springer Ed., 2018
E. Abdelraheem, M. Damian, F. G. Mutti “Biocatalytic Amine Synthesis”, Elsevier Ed., 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-32-390644-9.00086-X
AA.VV. “Biocatalysis for Practitioners. Techniques, Reactions and Applications”, Wiley-VCH, 2021
Videos and scientific papers will also be available in Kiro.
Communications/notices to the students will be posted in Kiro, too.
Reference books:
K. Faber. “Biotransformations in Organic Chemistry – A textbook”, Springer Ed., 2018
E. Abdelraheem, M. Damian, F. G. Mutti “Biocatalytic Amine Synthesis”, Elsevier Ed., 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-32-390644-9.00086-X
AA.VV. “Biocatalysis for Practitioners. Techniques, Reactions and Applications”, Wiley-VCH, 2021
Contents
This course aims at providing students with the knowledge about the application of enzymes in the synthesis of bioactive molecules.
Specifically, industrial cases of process development for the synthesis of APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) by biocatalysis will be presented.
Advantages and disadvantages of using isolated enzymes as biocatalysts in organic chemistry will be discussed, with a focus on the most used enzymes in industry (hydrolases, transferases, oxidoreductases). The pipeline of the development of a biocatalytic process will cover the selection of the enzyme, the “transformation” of the selected enzyme into a biocatalyst active and stable under the operative conditions dictated by the specific industrial process, the enzymatic reaction set-up, the scale-up of the biotransformation, and the product downstream.
The activities scheduled in the lab training are strictly interconnected with the lectures.
Specifically, the lab activities include:
- the determination of the specific activity of an immobilized enzyme (commercially available);
- the application of the immobilized enzyme in a biotransformation;
- reaction monitoring and product downstream.
NOTE: the core of this course is the use of enzymes (biocatalysis) in organic synthesis. Biocatalysis mostly occurs in aqueous media and under mild reaction conditions (pH, temperature, pressure), thus answering most of the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry (replacement of hazardous processes and products), and being considered as a Sustainable Chemistry.
The concept of sustainability ("meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs"), when applied to chemistry, results into a new paradigm of chemistry addressing the efficiency of the use of resources, raw materials and energy, through the design of selective reactions that produce less by-products. Biocatalysis is characterized by less waste and losses, as well as by a lower environmental and energy impact.
The contents of this course meet the goals #12, #13, #14 and #15 of the 2030 Agenda (https://asvis.it/agenda-2030/).
Specifically, industrial cases of process development for the synthesis of APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) by biocatalysis will be presented.
Advantages and disadvantages of using isolated enzymes as biocatalysts in organic chemistry will be discussed, with a focus on the most used enzymes in industry (hydrolases, transferases, oxidoreductases). The pipeline of the development of a biocatalytic process will cover the selection of the enzyme, the “transformation” of the selected enzyme into a biocatalyst active and stable under the operative conditions dictated by the specific industrial process, the enzymatic reaction set-up, the scale-up of the biotransformation, and the product downstream.
The activities scheduled in the lab training are strictly interconnected with the lectures.
Specifically, the lab activities include:
- the determination of the specific activity of an immobilized enzyme (commercially available);
- the application of the immobilized enzyme in a biotransformation;
- reaction monitoring and product downstream.
NOTE: the core of this course is the use of enzymes (biocatalysis) in organic synthesis. Biocatalysis mostly occurs in aqueous media and under mild reaction conditions (pH, temperature, pressure), thus answering most of the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry (replacement of hazardous processes and products), and being considered as a Sustainable Chemistry.
The concept of sustainability ("meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs"), when applied to chemistry, results into a new paradigm of chemistry addressing the efficiency of the use of resources, raw materials and energy, through the design of selective reactions that produce less by-products. Biocatalysis is characterized by less waste and losses, as well as by a lower environmental and energy impact.
The contents of this course meet the goals #12, #13, #14 and #15 of the 2030 Agenda (https://asvis.it/agenda-2030/).
Course Language
English
More information
Students are required to upload their safety certificates in a dedicated Google Drive folder according to the professors’ instructions before attending the lab training.
Both Professors (Daniela Ubiali and Marina S. Robescu) are participating in the project NODES (Spoke 2), which has received funding from the MUR – M4C2 1.5 of PNRR with grant agreement no. ECS00000036.
In NODES-Spoke 2 (Green technologies and sustainable industries) biocatalysis is clearly highlighted as a key technology for the development of production processes which rely on approaches and solvents less hazardous and safer for people and environment.
This course perfectly fits with the research and educational/training goals of the project NODES (Spoke 2).
Both Professors (Daniela Ubiali and Marina S. Robescu) are participating in the project NODES (Spoke 2), which has received funding from the MUR – M4C2 1.5 of PNRR with grant agreement no. ECS00000036.
In NODES-Spoke 2 (Green technologies and sustainable industries) biocatalysis is clearly highlighted as a key technology for the development of production processes which rely on approaches and solvents less hazardous and safer for people and environment.
This course perfectly fits with the research and educational/training goals of the project NODES (Spoke 2).
Degrees
Degrees
MEDICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL BIOTECHNOLOGIES
Master’s Degree
2 years
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People
People (2)
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