To take up a highly original vision developed by Jean-Marie Lehn, chemistry is marked by both high diversity and low molecular complexity, whereas biology, on the other hand, is characterized by high molecular complexity based on limited diversity (20 amino acids, 4 nucleic bases, etc.). If we want to harness the growing power of the concepts and tools of these disciplines, which continue to expand after the great scientific revolution of the 20th century, to invent new synthesis processes - which we'll call biotechnological - that are more efficient, more respectful of the environment, more energy-efficient and less costly, we need to strengthen research at the interface between chemistry and biology. The lecture attempts to illustrate some of the directions in which this research is heading, combining chemistry and biology to modify living organisms and transform cells into cellular factories for the production of unnatural molecules. This new science, which combines bioinspired chemistry and synthetic biology, will lead to powerful synthetic organisms, biocatalysts and artificial enzymes through the development of new methodologies: metabolic engineering, mutagenesis, directed evolution, for original biotechnological applications.
In this series of lectures, we present how these concepts are being used more specifically in the field of new energy technologies. How can enzymes or microorganisms be used to develop new bioelectrodes, biopiles or electrolysis biocells? How can protein engineering lead to new biodegradable conductive biopolymers? How can chemistry simplify complex biological processes? How can this chemistry be implemented, including in cellular contexts? How can chemically modified organisms be created for biofuel production?