THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODELING

Course objectives

This course provides the student with the theoretical knowledge and technical skills of extraction and purification of natural products. By completing the module Laboratory of natural products extraction, the student acquires: 1. Theoretical knowledge of the most common methods of extracting and purifying natural products (extraction methods, percolation, maceration, decotion, infusion, steam distillation, chromatography, and crystallization), of the most common instrumental chemical analysis techniques to determine physicochemical measurements (melting point, boiling point, density) through theoretical lecture-based classes, the volumetric analysis methods for determining natural products 2. The ability to apply that theoretical knowledge. The student attends individual teaching laboratory lectures where he applies extraction, purification and quantitative determination methods to natural products. 3. Self-direction and to act independently to a level where the student has a practical understanding of the learned techniques. At the end of each laboratory lecture the student has to prepare a report about the analysis procedure. Moreover, during the final test the student will exercise on mixture separation. 4. Written and oral communications skills, to a level where the student can clearly communicate the conclusions of extraction and purification process. This is evaluated during the final test. 5. To develop subject-related practical and cognitive skills. The course provides the student with the core elements for both further courses and the final test.

Channel 1
MICHELA PUXEDDU Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
Introduction: Natural compounds with biological and pharmacological activity. Main sources of natural compounds. · Extraction of natural compounds: General principles and purposes. · Extraction from plants and marine organisms: Preliminary stages (selection, collection, identification, and preservation of the sample). · Planning the extraction of a natural compound: Determination of solvent nature: solvent classification and selection. Determination of compound characteristics: solubility (factors affecting solubility), acidic and basic properties of compounds, charge, stability, and molecular size. Separation of natural compounds (unit operations): Separation of heterogeneous mixtures: decantation, filtration, centrifugation. Separation of solutions: Distillation: simple, fractional, reduced-pressure, and steam distillation. Liquid–liquid extraction: partition coefficient, influence of pH (extraction with chemically active solutions), batch extraction, continuous extractors. Solid–liquid extraction: diffusion and osmosis. Extraction techniques: pressing, maceration, infusion, decoction, percolation (simple and continuous), Soxhlet extraction, supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE). Solid-phase extraction (SPE): general principles, applications, types of compound–adsorbent phase interactions. · Separation of components from total extracts: Crystallization: solvent selection, procedure, and crystal separation. Sublimation: general principles, Craig microsublimator. Chromatography: introduction, classification of chromatographic methods, commonly used solid, liquid, and chemically bonded stationary phases; chromatographic separation mechanisms (partition, adsorption, ion exchange, size exclusion, affinity chromatography). Paper and thin-layer chromatography (TLC). Column chromatography. · Extraction from fermentation broths: General principles. Solid–liquid separation (clarification), centrifugation and filtration, tangential flow filtration, solvent extraction. Fermentation processes. · Laboratory exercises (individual workstations): Practical sessions covering selected topics from lectures, including fractional and steam distillation, liquid–liquid extraction, solid–liquid extraction using Soxhlet apparatus, crystallization, sublimation, chromatography, and caffeine extraction.
Books
Natural product isolation (Methods in Biotechnology) Richard J. P. Cannel.
  • Academic year2025/2026
  • CourseApplied Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • CurriculumSCIENZE ERBORISTICHE
  • Year3rd year
  • Semester1st semester
  • SSDCHIM/08
  • CFU6