Ateneo - UPO

During the course the student will participate in lectures in which the following arguments will be illustrated:
- the fundamental aspects and requirements of biotechnology applied to obtain secondary metabolites of pharmaceutical interest
- problems in obtaining secondary metabolites
- the main innovative plant biotechnological techniques such as the culture of plant tissues and plant cells in vitro, production of secondary metabolites in vitro, genetic engineering techniques.
The topics covered will be supported by examples such as biotechnological production of active ingredients with discussion of advantages and disadvantages.

Biotechnology of natural products
Wilfried Schwab, Bernd Markus, Lange Matthias,
Wüst Editors

Pharmaceutical biotechnology
Fundamental and application
Daan J. A. Crommelin
Robert D. Sindelar
Bernd Meibohm

Open access pubblications present in the pdf slides of lectures

At the end of the course, students must have acquired the knowledge and terminology necessary to describe the main biotechnological processes applied to the plant and cellular world. They will have to demonstrate that they are aware of their uses in order to obtain secondary metabolites of importance for the pharmaceutical and food industries. Furthermore, students will have to demonstrate that they have developed language skills and correct terminology.

Knowledge of biology

Oral lessons with the use of botanical samples and computer support: slide projection. The slides will be made available to students.

Lectures whose attendance is mandatory as the examination material does not end with the slides alone.

Oral exam with open questions. The subject of questions will be all the material explained in class. In order to achieve the knowledge and skills corresponding to the minimum level of sufficiency, the student is asked to demonstrate:
(knowledge)
• to know the importance of the bioavailability of a secondary metabolite
• to understand the concepts applied to plant biotechnology
• to comprehend the main methods of obtaining natural products through innovative biotechnological processes with and to applicate a specific and adequate language.

During the course the student will participate in lectures. During the lessons the theoretical aspects relating to the cultivation of plant tissues, cell suspensions, the techniques of micropropagation and genetic transformation of a plant will be illustrated.
The course will be divided as follows:
The problem of bioavailability for obtaining secondary metabolites of pharmaceutical relevance
Introduction to plant biotechnology. Definition, history, evolution.
Traditional biotechnologies: selection, hybridization, crossing and domestication, propagation for the improvement of officinal crops.
Transformation of plants. Examples of products obtained from hairy roots cultivation.
Innovative biotechnologies: in vitro cultures of plant cells, tissues and organs - related techniques, micropropagation, genetic engineering or recombinant DNA technology - transgenic plants and organisms, cryopreservation of germplasm.
Culture of cell suspensions. Cultures in stationary liquid medium, periodic immersion, permanent immersion (suspension cultures): discontinuous, continuous (open or closed), semi-continuous culture, immobilized cell culture.
Production of secondary metabolites in vitro. Advantages and disadvantages. Selection of highly productive cell lines.
Examples of production of active ingredients and substances of pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical-technological interest.
GMOs and current European and national legislation on GMOs. Directives on: releases into the environment, food and feed, traceability and labeling, cross-border movements of GMOs. Precautionary principle. Examples of marketed products and mechanisms of action of introduced exogenous genes: tomato flavr savr, laurical rapeseed oil, freedom II courgette, bollgard cotton, round-up ready soy, corn maximizer and nature gard.

At the end of the course the student will have a good knowledge of the main innovative biotechnological techniques applied to cell cultures, plants, tissues in order to obtain secondary metabolites of pharmaceutical and food interest. He will understand their main applications, advantages, disadvantages and their needs with a appropriate and specific language.