Chemistry and bioengineering

The^3rd-year "Chemistry and Bioengineering" specialization, shared by ENSTBB and ENSMAC, 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 production processes for therapeutic recombinant proteins 

           o Insulin, growth hormone
o Conjugated proteins case of conjugated antibodies

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 proteins and Silk-like proteins
- Examples of drug-delivery applications (antibiotics, anticancer agents, SI-RNA and gene delivery)
- Examples of applications in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering and bioprinting

4. Metabolic engineering (12h)

      - Introduction - General principles
- Optimization of metabolic pathways
- Description of synthesis processes
o Synthesis of artemisinin and hydrocortisone in yeast
o Synthesis of pinene (rocket fuel) in E. coli

5. Enzymatic catalysis (15h)

      - Enzyme discovery and engineering for industrial biotechnologies
o Presentation of enzyme discovery approaches using bioinformatics and functional genomics or metagenomics.
o Protein engineering technologies using rational, semi-rational or random methods.
o Applications to enzyme optimization or the generation of new activities for the development of enzymatic or chemo-enzymatic processes, and synthetic biology.
- Enzyme modification: examples of applications
o Genetic modification of 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)
o Notion of bi-functional enzymes, multi-functional complexes (channeling)
- Enzymes used in polymerization catalysis: for which reaction (oxidoreductase, lipases, etc.)
- Immobilized enzymes

6. Life cycle - future challenges (14h)

      - Product life cycle: definition and example
- Value chain improvement
- 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 liquid, supercritical fluids, etc.)
- Activation (microwave, mechanochemistry, etc.)
- Heterogeneous catalysis

2. Organic polymerization catalysis (4h)

      - Background : principles of organocatalysis and comparison with metal and enzyme catalysis
- Main catalysts, main monomers and associated mechanisms
- Polymerization catalysis using 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 catalytic 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
o Issues, Biomass (production - use - diversity)
- Biorefinery concept
o Definition of the concept
o Gaseous or liquid biofuels
o Oilseed chain
o Sugar chain
- Cellulosic biorefinery
o Cell wall, extractives, lignocellulose deconstruction processes
- Biorefinery synthons
o Basic synthons
o Polysaccharide depolymerization
o Lignin depolymerization

4. Chemistry of natural products (13h20)

      - Natural Products
o Introduction
o Primary and secondary metabolites
o Different families: (Ketides, Terpenes, Phenols, Alkaloids)
- Biosynthesis of natural molecules
o PKSs and NRPs
o Synthesis of phenols, flavonoids, etc.
o Terpene biosynthesis: (IPPs, MEV and MEP/DOXP)
o Quinoline, indoline and Vinca alkaloids ... .
- Natural Products and Medicines
- General information on active molecules derived from plants
- Extractions, identifications
- What is a medicine?
o Active ingredients and INN names
o Notion of patents
- Notion of Med-Chem
o Notion of SAR (Structure-Activity Relationship)
o Hemisynthesis
- Examples and stories of some medicines.

 5. Biobased polymers (10h40)

      - Major classes of synthetic polymers and production methods
- Definitions : Biopolymers - Bio-sourced 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
- Bio-sourced cross-linked materials
- Socio-economic data on bio-sourced polymers

6. Application examples (27h)

      - Towards a sustainable chemistry, challenges and opportunities
- Continuous process innovation: 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 the renewable
- 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 may be a bibliographical and/or technology watch topic.
- The work carried out must use the industrial project management approach.
- This is a professional project, which may lead to an internship at the client 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 teacher (academic tutor).

Evaluation methods

      - Written (Report: 20 pages maximum, including figures and references, excluding appendices; due one week before the defense)
- Oral (Presentation: 30 min; Discussion: 20-30 min in front of a panel of 3-4 people including a rapporteur, the project's local referent teacher, the industrial sponsor if possible and at least one of the specialization's managers)
No 2nd session, assessments postponed.

Report: 2 copies are requested one week before the defense (the dates will be specified later); one copy, intended for the rapporteur, in paper format is to be returned to the ENSTBB or ENSMAC school (specified later); the second can be sent to your local referent by electronic version if it is not confidential or can also be returned to the school in paper format (to be checked with your local referent).
ATTENTION: check with the industrialist for confidentiality (report/ defense).

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 in relation to the subject of the internship
- Place these data in a scientific, strategic, managerial and economic context
- Explain the project's 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 students are asked 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 orally defend an action plan.
Students orally present their internship subject to a panel of at least three examiners involved in 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