CHEM ENG 2015 - Principles of Biotechnology II

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2015

To provide students with a basic understanding on the principles of biotechnology. The aims of this course are to introduce students to some the key process engineering technologies appropriate to the biotechnology industry, to emphasize the role of microorganisms as the basis for classical and molecular biotechnology, and to inform students of the diverse applications of biotechnology to medical science and agriculture.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code CHEM ENG 2015
    Course Principles of Biotechnology II
    Coordinating Unit School of Chemical Eng and Advanced Materials(Ina)
    Term Semester 2
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Up to 4 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Assumed Knowledge CHEM 1000A/B, GENETICS 1000A/B
    Assessment quizzes, assignments, final examination
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Jingxiu Bi

    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    At the completion of this course, students will be able to:
    1 Understand the factors involved in the expression of proteins and other products by microorganisms;
    2 Gain an understanding of how naturally produced bio-products can be exploited for research & commercial purposes;
    3 Model and understand scale up problems associated with fermentation particularly in fed-batch mode;
    4 Understand and be able to specify alternative routes for the bioprocess optimization, such as cell disruption and bio-solids (e.g. inclusion bodies) recovery; and
    5 Make informed decisions about future study based on identification of areas of biotechnology that are of specific interest.
    University Graduate Attributes

    No information currently available.

  • Learning Resources
    Recommended Resources
    Reference Books

    “Methods in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology”  Bernard R., Glick & John E. Thompson.
    1993. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.

    “Plants, Genes, & Crop Biotechnology”  Maarten Chrispeels & David Sadavi. 2nd Edition. 2003. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

    "Molecular Biotechnology: Principles and Applications of Recombinant DNA" Bernard R. Glick & Jack J Pasternak.  Second Edition.  1998.  ASM press, Washington D.C.

    "Biochemical Engineering Fundamentals" J. Bailey & D. Ollis, 2nd Edition, McGraw Hill

    Online Learning
    A range of online resources will be provided via MyUni.
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes

    No information currently available.

    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    Activity Contact Hours Workload Hours
    Lectures 36 72
    Tutorials 12 24
    Computer Labs
    TOTAL 48 96
    Learning Activities Summary
    Topic 1 - Plant Systems
    (Plant Science)

    ·        Plant Tissue Culture: What is it and why is it important?
    ·        Plant Tissue Culture: Methods and applications.
    ·        Constructs for Plant Genetic Engineering: components and utility.
    ·        Plant transformation: Methods & techniques; examples - metabolic (starch, oil composition); developmental (e.g. flowering, grain & fruit development, apomixis); physiological (e.g. plant height, seeding vigour, storage); tolerance to environmental stress (e.g. herbicide, disease, drought, salinity, symbiosis).
    ·        Regulatory Framework: Who governs the industry, OGTR, risk assessment;
    ·        Functional ‘Omics’: Finding the candidate gene, techniques utilised, genome structure, applications.

     Topic 2 - Microbial Gene Expression & Microbes
    (Wine & Horticulture, and Microbiology & Immunology)

    ·        Sequencing & Amplification of DNA:  sequencing, whole genome sequencing projects.
    ·        Gene expression in prokaryotes & eukaryotic microbes:  strong & reliable promoters; expression hosts (prok vs euk); recombinant protein stability, oxygen limitation; protease-resistant hosts; metabolic load.
    ·        Molecular diagnostics:  immunologicals; DNA-based systems, including rapid hybridisation & PCR.
    ·        Therapeutic agents:  enzymes e.g. Dnase, lysases.
    ·        Vaccines: killed vs live; attenuated; sub-unit vaccines;  DNA based vaccination
    ·        Commercial processes:  Product formation 1- fermented food/beverages/fuel alcohol; food supplements; bio-polymers; molecular biologicals; biological insecticides.
    ·        Product formation 2 - pathway engineering; protein engineering/directed mutagenesis.
    ·        Production & use of biomass; degradation of xenobiotics; single-cell protein

    Topic 3 - Animal/Medical Biotechnology
    (Mammalian Systems)
    Technologicals and Diagnostic methods
    ·        Cutting edge high-throughput methods for genomic and proteomic analysis. 
    ·        Microarrays, mass-spectrophotometry and protein chips.
    ·        Biologicals
    ·        Recombinant proteins used as Human and Veterinary therapeutics. 
    ·        Cell Based Therapies
    ·        Stem cell therapy, animal transgenesis and cloning.

    Topic 4 -Introduction to Bioprocess Engineering Principles
    (Chemical Engineering)

    ·        Introduction: biotechnology & biochemical engineering; how biological scientists & engineers work together (e.g. production of a recombinant protein); an overview from petri dish to full-scale production
    ·        Cell-culture systems:  bacterial, plant & mammalian cells.
    ·        Fermenters: growth kinetics of cells; oxygen transport; modelling of fermenters
    ·        Downstream Processing: biomass/product recovery and purification

  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary

    No information currently available.

    Assessment Detail

    No information currently available.

    Submission

    No information currently available.

    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

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    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

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  • Policies & Guidelines
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