The Biocatalysis lab is located in the Department of Drug Sciences of Pavia University. It is headed by Prof. Daniela Ubiali and Prof. Teodora Bavaro.

Research topics

Green chemistry attains the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. Nowadays the green chemistry concept is widespread both in industry and in academia. “It is better to prevent the formation of waste rather than to clean it up after the fact” is known as the “1° principle” of green chemistry, postulated by Prof. Anastas in the '90. It summarizes very well the rationale and the aim of green chemistry philosophy: to eliminate the problem of waste generation by working on the design of the process itself so that it would produce the least amount of waste or to forsee innovative pathways for waste re-use and recycling in agreement with the 5R principle (Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Repair and Recycle) of circular economy. Enzymes are powerful catalysts: they are able of accepting a wide variety of complex molecules as substrates, and are exquisitely selective, catalyzing reactions with unparalleled chiral (enantio-) and positional (regio-) selectivities. As a result, these biocatalysts can be used in both simple and complex transformations without the need for the tedious protection and deprotection steps that are common in enantio- and regioselective organic synthesis. Due to their high selectivity, enzymes can catalyze reactions with few by-products formation, thus with low waste generation. For these reasons, enzymes often represent an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional chemical catalysts.

Main research areas:

• Biotransformations: enzyme-mediated synthesis of APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) and/or their intermediates, nutraceuticals and food related compounds. Immobilization of enzymes to achieve stable and recyclable biocatalysts. Biotransformations on preparative scale both in batch and in flow. 

• Biorefinery: enzyme-based technology for upgrading agrifood waste and by-products into high-added value bio-based products (i.e. emulsifiers, biofuels).

• Medicinal Chemistry: design, synthesis, analytical characterization of biologically active NCEs (New Chemical Entities). Structure-Activity Relationships (SAR study).

Competences: screening of enzymes for application in organic synthesis; research and development of immobilized biocatalysts, stability assessment of the biocatalysts under storage and operative conditions; biocatalyst recyclability. 

Instruments and facilities: Thermostated HPLC-UV-Vis/ELSD with an autosampler (Merck VWR), UV-Vis spectrophotometers (Shimadzu), Electrophoresis cells (Thermofisher and Biorad), Thermomixer (Eppendorf), Refrigerated centrifuge (Eppendorf), pHStats (Metrohm). Routinely used equipment and instruments for chemical synthesis and analysis. HPLC-MS, GC-MS, NMR accessible as Departmental or Interdepartmental facilities.