The course is given online and remotely and provides an overview of the research area Biocatalysis, with special emphasis on the application of enzymes for environmentally sustainable production of chemical products. The course comprises approximately 105 full-time study hours, corresponding to 4,0 ECTS credits.

Relevant enzymes and their reaction mechanisms are discussed. Furthermore, central experimental techniques for the use of enzymes in organic solvents are discussed, as well as methods for optimizing stereochemical yields with industrial processes as examples.

Furthermore, the course provides knowledge about general and current techniques for design and modification of enzymes, for example directed evolution, for application in biocatalysis. The student carries out a project where a theoretical experiment is designed which includes, among other things, to select and justify the choice of methods for the experimental execution and the analysis of the results.

After completion of the course the student shall be able to:

• demonstrate knowledge and analytical skills in the field of biocatalysis
• demonstrate ability to explain and analyze concepts in biocatalysis based on relevant research literature 
• formulate and discuss in writing how biocatalysis can be applied in industry to create more environmentally sustainable processes and, be able to reflect on sustainable societal development

The course contains a lecture series partly arranged jointly with the Masters' course BB2460 Biocatalysis. The lectures are mainly pre-recorded and the videos should be watched on your own. The course contains four scheduled lectures on Zoom, an additional three scheduled workshops on Zoom and three two-hour seminars on Zoom at the end of the course where the master students present their laboratory research projects. Apart from these scheduled activities, the course contains an individual theoretical research project/literature study presented in a report and one short assignment to submit. 

Watch the welcome video (2 minutes)

The compulsory course literature consist of a few scientific review articles selected for each of the lectures in the course. These articles can be found through links provided for each lecture in Canvas. No compulsory text book is used but there are several optional books:

• Kurt Faber. Biotransformations in Organic Chemistry:  A Textbook, 7th Edition. Springer-Verlag:  Heidelberg. 2018. e-ISBN 978-3-319-61590-5. Available as e-book through the KTH Library.
• Andreas Liese, Karsten Seelbach, Christian Wandrey (Eds.). Industrial Biotransformations. 2nd ed. Wiley-VCH. 2006. e-ISBN: 9783527608188. DOI: 10.1002/3527608184. Available as e-book through the KTH Library.
• Bommarius & Riebel, Biocatalysis - Fundamentals and Applications, Wiley-VCH 2004. e-ISBN: 9783527602360. Available as e-book through the KTH Library.
• Silverman, R. B. The Organic Chemistry of Enzyme-Catalyzed Reactions, Academic Press. 2002. ISBN 978-0-08-051336-2. Available as e-book through the KTH Library.
• Peter Grunwald, BIOCATALYSIS - Biochemical Fundamentals and Applications, Imperial College Press 2009. ISBN 978-1-86094-771-1 (used as course text book 2012)
• Adrie J. J. Straathof, Patrick Adlercreutz (Eds.) Applied biocatalysis. 2^nd Taylor & Francis 2000

Students at KTH with a permanent disability can get support during studies from Funka:

Funka - compensatory support for students with disabilities

P, F

• INL1 - Hand in assignments, 1.0 credits, Grading scale: P, F
• PRO1 - Project, 3.0 credits, Grading scale: P, F

Based on recommendation from KTH’s coordinator for disabilities, the examiner will decide how to adapt an examination for students with documented disability.

The examiner may apply another examination format when re-examining individual students.

Hand in assignments ( INL1 )

This part is assessed through submitted exercise and active participation in the scheduled workshops. Active participation in 80% of the workshops is required.

Project ( PRO1 )

This part is assessed by a written individual project report.

• All members of a group are responsible for the group's work.
• In any assessment, every student shall honestly disclose any help received and sources used.
• In an oral assessment, every student shall be able to present and answer questions about the entire assignment and solution.

The number of scheduled workshops has been reduced to allow for more flexibility requested by the industrial professionals.