Tailor made lipases for synthetic catalysis in biphasic media: From poly (lactone) applications towards novel sugar esters

Objective

AquaCat aims to design greener chemical processes by combining the use of lipase catalysis to that of aqueous biphasic reaction media with a specific view to the synthesis of poly(lactone) nanoparticles and sugar esters for pharmaceutical, cosmetical and chemical applications. A multidisciplinary approach encompassing physical chemistry and polymer science as well as industrial biotechnology, biocatalysis and enzyme technology will be followed to cover the various relevant scales. AquaCat will tailor the lipases microenvironment, design the reaction medium making lipase function as synthetic catalyst of confined organic substrates and identify the relevant parameters for industrial scale up of these processes. AquaCat will thus circumvent major problems in the current manufacturing processes making the use of organometallic catalysts, hazardous organic solvents, high energy consumption and multi-steps for nanoparticle elaboration obsolete. Lipases will be used to catalyze the ring-opening polymerization in nano-emulsions consisting of lactone nanodroplets dispersed in aqueous or aqueous-biphasic systems. The most innovative aspect of AquaCat is to directly synthesize the core-shell poly(lactone) in one step in water. The same principle will be applied to the synthesis of important specialty chemicals like sugar esters based on renewable feedstock. A trademark of this project will thus be the possibility to transfer and merge the expert’s fundamental background in colloid/polymer science, industrial biotechnology and biocatalysis from the third country into the EU giving novel insights into the basic reaction mechanisms and the influence of the emulsion properties on enzyme catalysis. Thus, AquaCat will create mutually-beneficial research co-operations and enable the application of results to other valuable substrates and could soon become a feasible strategy for the European industry to design sustainable processes for high value-added products.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.

• engineering and technology industrial biotechnology
• natural sciences chemical sciences polymer sciences
• natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis biocatalysis
• natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
• natural sciences chemical sciences physical chemistry

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

• FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

• FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IIF - Marie Curie Action: "International Incoming Fellowships"

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IIF
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Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MC-IIFR - International incoming fellowships (Return phase)

Coordinator