Chemistry and bioengineering

The 3rd-year "Chemistry and Bioengineering" specialization, shared by ENSTBB and ENSCBP, enables engineering students to acquire new skills at the chemistry/biology interface. This specialization enables them to explore a wide range of applications (chemistry, health, environment, energy and materials). Engineers graduating from this program will be able to tackle scientific and technical issues at the interface of chemistry, biology and pharmacy.

The specialization is divided into 2 modules: the first deals with the cell factory (recombinant protein production, biomimetics, metabolic engineering, etc.) and explores the concepts of enzymatic and bio-inspired catalysis; the second module introduces the concepts of green chemistry and deals with renewable carbon resources (biomass) and their uses (bio-refineries, bio-sourced polymers, etc.).

Recommended opening modules: Science, technology, communication and ethics or Big Data.

Module 1: Cellular factory (76h - 5 weeks)

1. Recombinant protein production (8h)

• Introduction - General principles
• Main expression hosts (bacteria + yeast + insect cells + HEK-CHO)
• Description of processes for the production of therapeutic recombinant proteins
  • Insulin, growth hormone
  • Protein conjugates case of antibody conjugates

2. Selective chemical modification of proteins (8h)

• Modification of natural amino acids (Cys, Lys, Met)
• Incorporation of non-natural amino acids.
• Principle and examples

Examples of applications: pegylation of therapeutic proteins, conjugation of drugs or radioisotopes, etc.

3. Biomimicry (6h)

• Polypeptide polymers for biomaterials: examples of Elastin-like and Silk-like proteins

• Examples of drug-delivery applications (antibiotics, anticancer drugs, SI-RNA and gene delivery)
• Examples of applications in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering and bioprinting

4. Metabolic engineering (12h)

• Introduction - General principles
• Optimizing metabolic pathways
• Description of synthesis processes
  • Artemisinin and hydrocortisone synthesis in yeast
  • Synthesis of pinene (rocket fuel) in E. coli

5. Enzymatic catalysis (15h)

• Enzyme discovery and engineering for industrial biotechnologies
  • Presentation of enzyme discovery approaches using bioinformatics and functional genomics or metagenomics.
  • Rational, semi-rational and random protein engineering technologies.
  • Applications to enzyme optimization or the generation of new activities for the development of enzymatic or chemo-enzymatic processes, and synthetic biology.
• Enzyme modification: application examples
  • Genetically modify an enzyme to improve its sub-optimal functioning or make it less sensitive to the product that would inhibit it (a priori modification or random mutagenesis).
  • Notion of bi-functional enzymes, multi-functional complexes (channeling)

• Enzymes used in polymerization catalysis: for which reaction (oxidoreductase, lipases, ...)
• Immobilized enzymes

6. Life cycle - future challenges (14h)

• Product life cycle: definition and example
• Improving the value chain
• Scientific and technological challenges (processes)

7. Intellectual property (8h)

• Intellectual property and patents

8. Application examples (5h)

• Engineering of bioelectrocatalytic surfaces
• Biotechnologies for sustainable innovation in cosmetics

Evaluation module 1 

Written assessment in the form of an analysis of a scientific article (2h, documents authorized, 2nd session identical to 1st session, in September).

Module 2: Towards sustainable chemistry (78h20 - 5 weeks)

1. Green chemistry (10h)

• Introduction - General principles
• Non-usual media (water, ionic liquids, supercritical fluids, etc.)
• Activation (microwave, mechanochemistry, ...)
• Heterogeneous catalysis

2. Organic polymerization catalysis (4h)

• Background: principles of organocatalysis and comparison with metal and enzyme catalysis
• Main catalysts, monomers and related mechanisms
• Polymerization catalysis with organic acids and "super-acids" (in the Bronsted sense)
• Polymerization catalysis using organic bases and "super-bases" (in the Bronsted sense)
• Polymerization catalysis using Lewis bases (in the Bronsted sense)
• Dual polymerization catalysis: single- and two-component catalyst systems
• Dual cooperative catalysis combining organic and metallic components
• Macromolecular engineering using organic polymerization catalysis: block copolymers, star polymers, macrocycles, etc.
• Application prospects and challenges

3. Biomass and biorefinery (13h20)

Carbon cycle - issues - biomass

• Issues, Biomass (production - use - diversity)

Biorefinery concept

• Concept definition
• Gaseous or liquid biofuels
• Oilseed sector
• Sugar industry

Cellulosic biorefinery

• Cell wall, extractives, lignocellulose deconstruction processes

Biorefinery synthons

• Basic synthons
• Polysaccharide depolymerization
• Lignin depolymerization

4. Chemistry of natural products (13h20)

Natural Products 

• Introduction
  • Primary and secondary metabolites
  • Different families: (Ketides, Terpenes, Phenols, Alkaloids)
• Biosynthesis of natural molecules
  • PKSs and NRPs
  • Synthesis of phenols, flavonoids, etc.
  • Terpene biosynthesis: (IPPs, MEV and MEP/DOXP)
  • Alkaloids quinolinic, indolinic, Vinca, ...

Natural Products and Medicines

• General information on active molecules derived from plants
• Extraction and identification
• What is a drug?
  • Active ingredients and INN name
  • Notion about patents
• Med-Chem concept
  • Notion of SAR (Structure-Activity Relationship)
  • Hemisynthesis
• Examples and stories of some drugs.

 5. Biobased polymers (10h40)

• Major classes of synthetic polymers and production methods
• Definitions : Biopolymers - Biosourced polymers - Biodegradable polymers
• Bio-sourced polymers: the driving forces behind their development
• Bio-sourced polymers derived from natural polymers (artificial polymers)
• Bio-alternative to fossil-based polymers
• New bio-sourced thermoplastic polymers and their properties
• Biobased cross-linked materials
• Socio-economic data on bio-based polymers

6. Application examples (27h)

• Towards sustainable chemistry: challenges and opportunities
• Innovation procédés continus: pharmaceutical world of tomorrow, innovative tools and innovative way of working

• The successful marriage of plastics and enzymes
• Green chemistry and industry: renewable resources as sources of innovation
• Valorization of starch co-products
• Chemistry at the heart of renewable energies
• Eco-design at Michelin
• Enzyme dosing with Zymoptique technology

Module 2 assessment

Written assessment in the form of an analysis of a scientific article (2h, documents authorized, 2nd session identical to 1st session, in September).

Project (70h)

Objectives

• The Industrial Project enables students to work on a topical subject proposed by an industrialist in connection with their specialization. This involves respecting the instructions given and meeting the various objectives set by the industrialist. The subject can be a bibliographical and/or technology watch topic.
• The work carried out must use the industrial project management approach.
• This is a professional training program that may lead to an internship with the sponsoring company.

Contents

• Students work in mixed ENSTBB/ENSMAC groups of 3 to 5 people, including 1 project leader.
• Each group chooses a topic.
• Each project group must work in close collaboration with the company sponsoring the project and with the local mentor teacher (academic tutor).

Evaluation methods

• Written (Report: 20 pages maximum, including figures and references, excluding appendices; due one week before defense)

• Oral (Presentation: 30 min; Discussion: 20-30 min before a panel of 3-4 people including a rapporteur, the local project coordinator, the industrial sponsor if possible and at least one of the specialization managers).

No 2nd session, postponement of assessments

Report : 2 copies are requested one week before the defense (dates to be specified); one copy, intended for the rapporteur, in paper format is to be returned to the ENSTBB or ENSMAC school (to be specified); the second can be sent to your local reference by electronic version if it is not confidential, or can also be returned to the school in paper format (to be discussed with your local reference).

ATTENTION: check with industry to ensure confidentiality (report/support)

Defense: the defense of the industrial research project will take place in the last week of the specialization module (dates to be specified).

Grand oral

Objectives

• Be able to select and analyze scientific data from the literature relevant to the subject of the internship specialization
• Put these data into a scientific, strategic, managerial and economic context,
• Explain the project issues, proposing a scientific and technical approach
• Defend this approach by mobilizing and transferring scientific and technical knowledge

Contents

Based on the subject of the specialization internship, the aim is to place the proposed subject in a variety of contexts (managerial, economic, scientific, etc.), discuss its scientific validity, propose various strategies for achieving the objectives and defend an action plan orally.

Students orally present their internship topic to a panel of at least three examiners from the various modules. This is followed by a discussion covering all the topics covered in the specialization courses. Questions may also be asked about courses taken throughout the student's curriculum.

Evaluation methods 

Oral (Presentation: 10 min; Discussion: 15 min)

^2nd session: oral (in September)

Managers 

• Lætitia Daury
• Audrey Llevot
• Patricia Costaglioli

Choice of specialization

Course handouts with speakers' bibliographies