“CC - TOP ” : Efficient Enzymes for C-C formation

2021-2024

« C-C Bond Formation Using Top Performing Enzymes –
Training the Next Generation of Innovators for a Sustainable Bioeconomy »
(CC-TOP)

• Coordinator: prof. Wolf-Dieter Fessner, Darmstadt, Germany
• PI, France: prof; Laurence Hecquet, UCA-ICCF
• Partners: - 8 European universities (Spain, Croatia, UK, Germany, Netherlands, France)
                   - 3 companies (BASF, Prozomix, JohnsonMatthey)
• Global budget: 3.5 M€
• Funding France-ICCF: 274 k€ including one PhD (36 months) ans 2 hosting PhD (2x3 months) from University College London (GB) and University of Göttingen (DE)

                 

Industrial Biotechnology is a Key Enabling Technology under Horizon 2020, expected to boost technological innovation and industrial leadership in the EU. It can improve chemical processes in compliance with the principles of Green Chemistry and effectively address social, environmental and economic needs. Carbon-carbon (C-C) chemistry is one of the most important areas of organic chemistry, leading to diverse molecules including long chains, branched chains and ring structures. With traditional chemical methods, C–C bond formation “carboligation” is quite difficult to manipulate and control whereas enzymes can catalyze carboligation in a more environmentally friendly way and with greater stereoselectivity. The CC-TOP consortium has identified and will address a number of critical needs, technology gaps, practical challenges and synthetic opportunities presenting a huge potential for innovation.

The main objective of the CC-TOP is to provide multidisciplinary training to 15 PhD in the field of enzymatic carboligation and its industrial applications in fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The 15 PhD training courses are based on a network of 8 university partners and 3 industrial partners, to provide solid interdisciplinary skills through Early Stage Researcher (ESR) secondments. The CC-TOP network´s aim for efficient translation of breakthrough technology into industrial applications is emphasized through the implementation of an industrial skills module involving all ESRs. CC-TOP combines leading-edge discovery technologies with state-of-the-art protein engineering and structural biology methods to specifically optimize process-validated carboligases for scalable applications in Industrial Biotechnology.