Engineering Research Centers

Partnership ended

Centre of Excellence for Research on Sustainable Chemistry (CERSusChem)
Goal: To develop sustainable synthetic methods employing benign solvents, safer reagents, and bio-renewable feedstock
Coordinator: Arlene Gonçalves Corrêa
Host Institution: Center of Exact Sciences and Technology, Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar)
Business partner: GlaxoSmithKline Brasil Ltda (GSK)

www.cersuschem.ufscar.br
+55 16 3351-8281
agcorrea@ufscar.br

FAPESP Process 2014/50249-8
Term: Apr 2016 to Apr 2022
 

The CERSusChem was part of the Engineering Research Centers Program (CPE) between 2016 and 2022. Since May 2022, it has been funded by a FAPESP Thematic Project. Its research staff comprises nine faculty members of UFSCar with ongoing projects in the area and with well-established national and international research collaborations.

The team’s expertise ensures continuous production at the state of the art to address a series of challenges and overarching goals as long-term directions of its research activities. The research features novel strategies from across pharma, biotech and academia to meet current challenges in organic synthesis. It focuses on the principles of sustainable chemistry, including cascade organocatalytic/multicomponent reactions, nanomaterials, solvent-free approach or biosolvents, biocatalysis, flow chemistry, and new models for protein ligand assays.

The education and knowledge dissemination action plan calls for training of qualified industry workers and secondary school teachers. Technology transfer is another important part of our mission, requiring collaborative work with industrial partners pursued in a flexible manner in order to meet their needs. We are also developing a tool box for catalytic reactions and assays, leading to practical applications in the manufacturing of new or well-established products with environmental and economic benefits while advancing social well-being. 

BV-FAPESP:
https://bv.fapesp.br/en/auxilios/92238/