The course is on the advanced level and consists of lectures and experimental work given by the lecturers including Vincent Bulone, Lauren Mckee, Francisco Vilaplana, Qi Zhou.
Lectures
1. Introduction, basics and importance of glycoscience in health, energy and materials science.
2. Glycoscience and health – the role of glycans.
3. Carbohydrate analysis of complex carbohydrates, glycans, and glycoconjugates
4. The plant cell wall
5. Glycoenzymes
6. Enzymatic degradation of biomass and fiber modification
7. Cellulose and chitin biosynthesis and self-assembly
8. Novel composites through bioengineering of plant cell wall – manipulating glycans by pathway engineering
9. Converting biomass to fine chemicals and feedstocks, polymeric materials and nanomaterials.
10. Assembly of biomass nanomaterials for new materials and applications
There is literature to read before each lecture and a written assignment to do afterwards. The purpose of these assignments is to generate appropriate learning activity for you and increase the quality of learning of each lecture. As you understand, you must set aside time for reading and working between the lectures.
Laboratory work
1. Carbohydrate analysis. This module will provide theoretical and experimental background to understand and determine the molecular composition and structure of complex carbohydrates.
2. Carbohydrate active enzyme. In this module, students will produce and purify arabinofuranosidases and use them to create a series of tailored arabinoxylan structures. These will be used to produce films that the students will use to perform a series of mechanical tests.
3. Carbohydrate-based nanomaterial. In this module, students will prepare nanostructured films and aerogels from microfibrillated cellulose and characterize their morphology and mechanical properties.
4. Carbohydrate biosynthesis. In this module, students will learn how to manipulate glycan biosynthesis for material applications through the cultivation of Acetobacter xylinum for bacterial cellulose production.