How can you teach bioengineering students to apply chemical engineering principles to biological systems?

1 Explain the relevance and benefits

One of the first steps to teach bioengineering students how to apply chemical engineering principles to biological systems is to explain why they are relevant and beneficial for their field. You can use examples of real-world applications, such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, bioreactors, biosensors, and biofuels, to show how chemical engineering can help design, optimize, and control biological processes and systems. You can also highlight how chemical engineering can provide a quantitative and systematic framework to analyze and model complex biological phenomena, such as transport, reaction, and regulation.

2 Introduce the basic concepts and assumptions

Another important step is to introduce the basic concepts and assumptions of chemical engineering that are applicable to biological systems, such as mass and energy balances, thermodynamics, kinetics, and equilibrium. You can use simple and familiar analogies, such as pipes, tanks, and valves, to illustrate how these concepts can be used to describe and manipulate biological systems, such as cells, tissues, and organs. You can also explain how some assumptions, such as steady state, ideal mixing, and constant properties, may not hold for biological systems, and how to account for the variability, heterogeneity, and nonlinearity of biological systems.

3 Teach the relevant tools and methods

The next step is to teach the relevant tools and methods of chemical engineering that can be used to analyze and design biological systems, such as differential equations, numerical methods, optimization, and simulation. You can use examples of biological problems, such as enzyme kinetics, gene expression, metabolic pathways, and pharmacokinetics, to show how these tools and methods can be applied to formulate and solve them. You can also introduce the software and platforms that are commonly used for bioengineering, such as MATLAB, Python, COMSOL, and BioNetGen, and how to use them effectively and efficiently.

4 Encourage the integration and synthesis

The final step is to encourage the integration and synthesis of chemical engineering principles and biological systems, by engaging the students in project-based learning, case studies, and research opportunities. You can provide the students with realistic and relevant scenarios, such as designing a bioprocess, optimizing a bioproduct, or developing a biosensor, and guide them through the steps of defining the problem, identifying the objectives and constraints, selecting the appropriate models and methods, performing the analysis and design, and evaluating the results and outcomes. You can also expose the students to the latest advances and challenges in bioengineering, such as synthetic biology, biomanufacturing, and bioinformatics, and inspire them to pursue further learning and research in this exciting field.