CCBIO
The Competence Center for Biocatalysis (CCBIO) at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) connects relevant research competencies to facilitate the transfer of biocatalytic approaches from the laboratory bench to industrial application.
Rebecca Buller receives European EFMC award
Rebecca Buller wins this year's EFMC “Young Medicinal Chemist or Chemical Biologist in Academia” award. The award is presented by the European Federation of Medicinal Chemistry for outstanding achievements in the field of medicinal chemistry or chemical biology. The young researcher at the Institute of Chemistry and Biotechnology at the ZHAW in Wädenswil is one of the world's leading experts in the dynamically growing field of biocatalysis and enzyme engineering.
Effective engineering of a ketoreductase for the biocatalytic synthesis of an ipatasertib precursor
In collaboration between the Laboratory of Biocatalysis and F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd a ketoreductase was evolved to catalyze a key synthesis step - the reduction of the prochiral ketone to the desired (R,R)-trans alcohol intermediate - with high efficiency in an industrial set-up.
Communications Chemistry (2024) 7:46.
S. H. Malca, N. Duss, J. Meierhofer, D. Patsch, M. Niklaus, S. Reiter, S. P. Hanlon, D. Wetzl, B. Kuhn, H. Iding & R. Buller.
From nature to industry: Harnessing enzymes for biocatalysis
A review article just published in the journal "Science" by Rebecca Buller and colleagues from the field of biocatalysis gives an overview of the achievements of the last five years and an outlook on future research and applications in this field
Science (2023) 382, 899.
R. Buller, S. Lutz, R. J. Kazlauskas, R. Snajdrova, J. C. Moore & U. T. Bornscheuer.
The Competence Center for Biocatalysis (CCBIO) at the ZHAW promotes biocatalysis as a complementary method to classic organic synthesis and aims to help bridge the gap between academic laboratories and the production plant. By connecting relevant research competencies CCBIO strives to develop a comprehensive biocatalytic toolbox consisting of enzyme libraries and methods, which will facilitate the development of biocatalytic and biosynthetic processes for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry.
The Competence Center of Biocatalysis (CCBIO) was founded in January 2016 and is led by Dr. Rebecca Buller, head of the Center for Biocatalysis, Environmental- and Process Technology. CCBIO is embedded in the ZHAW and operates the platform Biocatalysis and Biosynthesis within the National Thematic Network (NTN) Swiss Biotech. From 2017 to 2020 CCBIO led the network project «Innovation in Biocatalysis: A toolbox for sustainable bio-based production», a program supported by project contributions from the Swiss Higher Education Council. The section of Biocatalysis carries out several projects in close collaboration with academic and industrial partners.
Biocatalysis enables the sustainable production of chiral and highly functionalized compounds for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Recent developments in the field of DNA sequencing, gene synthesis and bioinformatics have enabled scientists to tailor biocatalysts to the needs of industry and to reorganize enzymes in biosynthetic pathways. This progress fueled the so-called «third wave of biocatalysis» and promises to unlock hitherto inaccessible enzyme activities for industrial biocatalysis and engineer microbial and fungal strains for the production of novel asset molecules.
The Competence Center for Biocatalysis and its members from various research disciplines provide the necessary know-how to master specific challenges in the field of biocatalysis together with industrial partners.
The goals are:
- Establish biocatalysis as an alternative to classical chemical synthesis
- Develop a comprehensive biocatalytic toolbox consisting of enzyme libraries and methods
- Facilitate the development of biocatalytic and biosynthetic processes for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry.
- Establish a national platform for scientific knowledge transfer and dialog for participants from industry and academia
- Strengthen the topic of biocatalysis within the teaching portfolio of Swiss Universities
The section of biocatalysis works closely together with members of the Competence Center of Biocatalysis (CCBIO) and academic and industrial partners.
- Within SINERGIA EnzyDEL in collaboration with the ETHZ the enzymatic construction of DNA-encoded chemical libraries is studied.Within SINERGIA EnzyDEL in collaboration with the ETHZ the enzymatic construction of DNA-encoded chemical libraries is studied.
- Within the Innosuisse Project 62643.1 IP-LS in collaboration with Novartis Pharma AG we work on a "Toolbox for the Development of novel CH-Activation Biocatalysts"
- Within the NCCR Catalysis "Data Driven Research Program" we evaluate together with A. Krause (ETHZ) a "High-throughput Pipeline for the Generation of Enzyme Sequence-Function Data".
- Within Innosuisse Projekt 46150.1 IP-LS we study in collaboration with Syngenta the “Biocatalytic halogenation for the sustainable development of agrochemicals”.
- Within the Health Research Hub at the ZHAW we work with our colleagues from the Institute of Food and Beverage Innovation on "Strategies to reduce mycotoxins in grain" through the application of functional microorganisms and / or tailored enzymes.
- As a member of the National Centre of Competence in Research «NCCR-Catalysis», we develop biocatalysts for sustainable, resource-efficient and CO2-neutral chemical production based on abundant renewable resources.
- Bilateral project with Roche
- Within the framework of «Bridge» a "Toolbox Peptide-based drugs "is being developed.
- Within the network project Innovation in Biocatalysis enzymatic "Production of (R)-α-ionone(PDF 130,5 KB)(PDF 130,5 KB)" is studied and new "Halogenases(PDF 66,6 KB)(PDF 66,6 KB)" are being researched.
- In the Innosuisse Projekt 28285.1 PFLS-LS "alpha-ketoglutarate dependent enzymes as biocatalysts for sustainable chemical synthesis " are explored in collaboration with Novartis.
- In the Innosuisse Projekt 25929.2 PFLS-LS "Biocatalytic production of natural flavours and fragrances" is investigated together with Firmenich.
- In collaboration with CCOS (Culture Collection of Switzerland) an Ene Reductase Library is being established.
- Further projects include the optimisation of fermentations (partner not public).
The center started operating in 2016 under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Rebecca Buller and tackles multidisciplinary research projects combining tools of chemistry and biology using the expertise of its members.
Before joining the ZHAW, Prof. Dr. Rebecca Buller was Laboratory Head and Project Manager at Firmenich, a flavour and fragrance company. In this role, she developed and optimized several biocatalysis based processes for the manufacture of asset molecules. Additionally, Prof. Dr. Buller brings in-depth knowledge of enzyme engineering through her academic research at ETH Zurich.
Prof. Dr. Rebecca Buller received her Diploma degree in Chemistry from the University of Münster and studied at the University of California in Santa Barbara. She holds a PhD degree from the Institute of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences at ETH Zurich.
- Dr. Hans-Peter Meyer, HES-SO Valais-Wallis, Sion, Switzerland
- Prof. Dr. Roger Marti, HES-SO Valais-Wallis,Fribourg, Switzerland
- Dr. Thomas Münch, Givaudan SA, Kemptthal, Switzerland
- Prof. Dr. Ruth Freitag, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
- Dr. Andreas Taglieber, Firmenich SA, Genf, Switzerland
- Prof. Dr. Donald Hilvert, ETHZ, Zürich, Switzerland
- Prof. Dr. Uwe Bornscheuer, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
The Biocatalysis Group, headed by Professor Dr. Rebecca Buller, works on current topics in biocatalysis in collaboration with academic and industrial partners.
4th CCBIO Symposium "Industrial Biocatalysis"
The "4th CCBIO Symposium on Industrial Biocatalysis" took place on June 8th, 2023 on the ZHAW campus in Wädenswil. We could host more than 130 participants!
A big thank you to all speakers, attendees, and partners for their contributions and engaged discussions on the future of biocatalysis!
For more information about the speakers and their talks please check our Programme flyer of the 4th CCBIO Symposium on Industrial Biocatalysis(PDF 1,5 MB).
Prof. Dr. Sabine Flitsch (University of Manchester, UK); Prof. Dr. Caroline Paul (Delft University of Technology, NL); Prof. Dr. Xiongyi Huang (Johns Hopkins University, US); Prof. Dr. Gerard Roelfes (University of Groningen, NL); Prof. Dr. Jared Lewis (Indiana University Bloomington, US); Dr. Thierry Schlama (Novartis Pharma AG, CH); Prof. Dr. Roland Wohlgemuth (Lodz University of Technology, PL); Prof. Dr. Pablo Nikel (Technical University of Denmark, DK); Prof. Dr. Mélanie Hall (University of Graz, AT); Prof. Dr. Jörg Pietruszka (Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, DE); Dr. Christian Willrodt (BASF SE, DE); Prof. Dr. Florian Rudroff (Vienna University of Technology, AT); Prof. Dr. Rebecca Buller (ZHAW, CH); Dr. Hans-Peter Meyer, HES-SO and Expertinova AG, CH).
Picture: Beat Gautschi