IBA’s Post

PFAS-Blaster project, funded by the Service Public Wallonie (SPW), saw an important milestone reached this week with the technical kick-off meeting at the IBA headquarters in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. This meeting has been a key moment to dive deeper into technical discussions and carefully organize the first phases of experimentation. This ambitious project aims to develop a treatment solution for materials contaminated by PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, by combining three innovative technologies: - High-energy electron beam irradiation - Bioremediation - Low-temperature thermal desorption 🤝 Partners provided detailed explanations of the technical functioning of their technologies and worked together to plan the execution of the initial experimental phases. The project brings together Idrabel Environmental Biotechnology, Haemers Technologies , Université de Liège, UNamur - Recherche, SPGE, SWDE, and is supported by GreenWin and MecaTech. Excited to move forward on this critical environmental challenge! 🌱 Stay tuned !

#ICIQSeminar | 🙌Thank you Prof. Rebecca Melen from Cardiff University / Prifysgol Caerdydd for delivering a seminar about the donor-acceptor ability of frustrated Lewis pairs. 🍐 Single electron transfer from a Lewis base donor to a Lewis acid acceptor can produce a frustrated radical species. This depends on both the substrate and energy required to promote a frustrated Lewis pairs into a frustrated radical pair. 🧪Prof. Melen discussed using borane Lewis acids in catalytic cyclization reactions. When paired with PMes₃, they form radical frustrated pairs, enabling C–C and C–S bond formation. This opens innovative pathways for chemical synthesis. 🌍New applications of borane Lewis acids in diazo activation were highlighted by Prof. Melen. These methods replace transition metals in a range of catalytic transformations, offering sustainable and efficient alternatives. 🔵 Also thanks to our seminar sponsor BASF ICERCA - Centres de Recerca de Catalunya | Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) | SOMM Alliance

Research teams from UGA New Materials Institute will lead or co-lead 8 projects in 2025 for the Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites, or CB2. The research consortium is funded in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Read more: https://lnkd.in/eamQQxPu

Raquel Filipa Silva Gonçalves Passos – Understanding of the effects of bio-based nanostructures within food matrices 26.03.2024 / 2:30 PM / Sala de Atos (CA-01-00-42-23) of the Universidade do Minho, Azurém Campus, Guimarães. Raquel Passos, researcher of the FIT group at #CEB, developed her #PhD Project, whose final thesis she will now defend, with the theme “Understanding of the effects of bio-based nanostructures within food matrices”. The project aimed to analyze the behavior of different lipid nanostructures incorporated into foods, with a focus on the stability and bioaccessibility of #curcumin during digestion. Potato protein-based #bigels were developed as a vegetable alternative to curcumin carriers, showing promising rheological properties. See all the information at: www.lkme.pt/NLLJv

🍃 NUMOBIO project set out to accomplish substantial leaps in digitalising biocomposite design for optimised development of new materials and products 🍃 Business Finland funded two-year NUMOBIO project (Advanced NUmerical MOdelling for rapid development of BIOcomposite applications) ran from August 2021 until end of 2023, exploring important topics related to the modelling and testing of natural-fibre reinforced composite materials, also known as biocomposites. Some of the key outcomes of the project included a substantial set of experimental data on biocomposites collected from industrial use cases within the NUMOBIO consortium, and a successful demonstration of individual fibre testing for short wood-pulp fibre strength and fibre-matrix adhesion. 🍃 NUMOBIO project’s key research partners Tuukka Verho, Researcher at VTT, Pasi Kallio, Professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology at Tampere University, and Essi Sarlin, Professor at the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences at Tampere University were joined by Kirsi Hirvonen, Development Manager at Metsä Fibre, to reflect on the concluded project and its primary outcomes. Read about them here: https://lnkd.in/gaeDGH7X 📷 : VTT #expandfibre #biocomposites #circulareconomy #fibres #project #bioeconomy

RRB in action, as a beautiful cross-continental collaboration emerges between two RRB veterans to deal with food waste. More information can be found in the following articles: https://lnkd.in/dmcRRPMw + https://lnkd.in/d5afGpaG. Our call for abstracts is open now! (https://lnkd.in/dwDMbUMu) SynBioC Research Group, Ghent University; Universiteit Gent; Faculty of Bioscience Engineering UGent; ITN GREEN-CHEM; InBio.be - Centre for Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis; Christian Stevens; Carol Sze Ki Lin; Mikelis Kirpluks; Anda Fridrihsone; Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry; City University of Hong Kong

IOCB Tech Group (Ústav organické chemie a biochemie AV ČR) as a member of Transfera.cz is attending the 11th National Technology Transfer Conference organised by Vysoké učení technické v Brně. The main axis of the event is the Reform of TechTransfer in the Czech Republic. We are glad we were a part of this process preparation. The reform was introduced by the Czech minister for science, research, and innovation Helena Langšádlová. #TechTransfer #BioTech #science #inventions

There is no better way to kick off the week and kick start the MSCA Doctoral Network preparations than attending this event. 📍 **Venue**: Instituto de Bioingeniería de Catalunya (IBEC) , Calle Baldiri Reixac 4-8, Sala Dolors Aleu 🤝 **Organized by**: Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) | Agencia de Gestión de Ayudas Universitarias y de Investigación ( AGAUR .) | Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología, FECYT ) Laura Milián Ibáñez and myself will be joining experts and peers in a collaborative setting to discuss the latest developments in the MSCA-DN 2024 call, which was launched on May 29, 2024, with a deadline for submitting proposals on November 27, 2024. This year we are planning to build on the ICIQ successful record (remember than last year only 12% of applications got funding!): One of the successful applications from the past is the BREAKthrough_DN Doctoral Network, which focuses on making bacteria susceptible to today's standard-of-care antibiotics. Prof. Ruben Martin’s group (ICIQ -CERCA) benefits from this program, coordinated by the Université Catholique de Louvain. The BREAKthrough network comprises 9 beneficiaries and 7 associated partners. Or our latest addition, the D Carbonize project, coordinated by the ICIQ, under the leadership of Prof. Arjan Kleij. This MSCA EU-funded doctoral network includes a consortium of 15 partners. It aims to use circular chemistry approaches to design and build recyclable plastics using biomass as feedstock. We look forward to building on this legacy with new strategies and insights gained from this event. #ResearchExcellence #DoctoralNetwork #HorizonEurope #MSCA_DN #ICIQ

Happy to be at the The World Expo of Synthetic Biology 2024 at Paris and proud to be with our team for wining a Silver medal for working on microalgea based biopharmaceutical - biomanufacturing with carbon sequestration. https://lnkd.in/gfBdn_vn Title: Proposing Algal Chloroplast as the New Status Quo for Biopharmaceutical Peptide Production Description: As the climate crisis intensifies and the cost of living rises, the demand for a circular economy has never been greater. Project Chloronova leverages microalgae as a scalable carbon-sequestering organism by partnering with major industrial polluters in our hometown of Hamilton, Ontario to reduce carbon dioxide emissions while producing high-value biomolecules. Unlike bacteria, microalgae offer the unique ability to perform post-translational modifications, make multiple heterologous proteins and withstand antimicrobial mechanisms. Inspired by our human practices research, Chloronova engineers microalgae to produce antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), thus addressing the alarming rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the urgent need for sustainable bioproduction. Using PEG-mediated transformation in a cell-wall deficient strain of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (cw15+), we are able to introduce our plasmid into the chloroplast DNA of the microalgae. By optimizing AMP production within C. reinhardtii, we are creating a scalable, modular biofactory. It’s a new day, and algae is here to stay. This path has been one of the focus of JSPL and a ongoing CCUS activity at Jindal Steel at Angul, India. We hope to see more of such innovations globally recognised that aligns with JSPL’s existing algae based CCUS efforts. Congratulations Binjal Pradhan and the team from McMaster University Canada for all the hard work

Dissemination and Communication is highly important for the success of our #MSCAStaffExchanges – CHem PGM project. Four project partners participated in the #17thPanhellenicSymposiumOnCatalysis (17PSC) that took place in the coastal area of Paphos on 8-10 October. The representatives were highly active to disseminate the latest contributions and network with experts in the field of catalysis: Dr Iakovos Yakoumis (Project coordinator – Monolithos Catalysts & Recycling Ltd.), delivering a keynote lecture on PROMETHEUS catalyst: the first ever commercial copper-based automotive catalyst homologated for Euro6 application. Dr Zara Zheleva - Institute of Catalysis Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, presenting insightful results on the Application of mechanochemistry toward sustainable recycling of spent automotive catalysts. Dr Maria Luisa Grilli – ENEA, giving a speech on Sustainable catalysts from Dry Reforming of Methane obtained from recovered Pt. Dr Stylianos Spathariotis, Ph.D. - YS Cypriot Catalysts Ltd. presenting a poster on Enhancing Public Health Through Nano-Photocatalytic Materials with Antibacterial and IR Reflectance Properties. We are proud of our team’s active dissemination efforts and their contribution to this dynamic symposium, fostering connections and sharing knowledge in the field of catalysis. #ChemPGM #CatalysisSymposium #SustainableTechnology #CatalysisInnovation #Networking #MSCA #HorizonEurope #17PSC #CircularEconomy