Notizie correlate
- 02/02/2023
Eventi 2023, il PON Ricerca e Innovazione lancia una call per dottori di ricerca, dottorandi e ricercatori - 20/01/2023
Dottorati innovativi, online i manifesti dei progetti di ricerca - 31/10/2022
Evento annuale 2022, il PON Ricerca e Innovazione 2014-2020 lancia una call per i dottori di ricerca
University of Cagliari 2
ITA | ENG
Project
“Conversion of vegetable waste into cosmeceutical and nutraceutical interest products” intends to convert the vegetable waste from wine production (marc) and oil production (pomace and olive mill wastewater) into cosmeceuticals, nutraceuticals and other bio-based products of interest. The idea is to create an eco-friendly supply chain for the production of vegetable raw materials and biotechnological products. The supply chain process starts with the development of methods for the extraction of phytocomplexes having antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, prebiotic, soothing and regenerative activity. The process continues with the evaluation of whether the residual biomass can be reused as a substrate to be fed to bioreactors through which other bio-based products, such as biohydrogen, organic acids and soil improvers, can be recovered. In terms of added value and technological innovation, the plant extracts obtained are incorporated into phospholipid vesicles (nanoformulates) so as to maximize the effectiveness of these natural substances in skin, mucous membranes and the entire human body and to obtain cosmeceuticals, nutraceuticals and enriched foods.
Financial Resources
The project was funded by the NOP Research and Innovation 2014-2020 under the action Innovative Industrial Doctorates, Cycle XXXIV - Academic Year 2018-2019. For the implementation of this initiative, the University of Cagliari, which received 85.743,06 euro in funding, established a 3-year doctoral scholarship in “Earth and Environmental Sciences and Technologies” within the Department of Life Sciences – Botany section.
Impact
The project falls within the Biomedicine, Agrifood and Biotechnology specialization area and aims to train a highly skilled professional whose acquired technical and scientific know-how will make it easier for him/her to enter the world of work, with employment opportunities not only at national and international level but also in the region, considering that the postgraduate training course is relevant to the small local businesses. The PhD graduate will be able to support both local agrifood companies in the reuse of their production waste and processing industries that produce cosmeceuticals and nutraceuticals, contributing important technological innovation. This professional will help companies to become more aware of the biodiversity of local varieties and of the potential of residual biomass, strengthening their brand by diversifying their product range with the launch of a “non-food” line, in close connection with the local identity values expressed by their plant-based products. The trained professional will also be able to support the innovative development of processing industries which can use the media image resulting from the use of local varieties and exploit the phytonanoformulates obtained for the formulation of cosmeceutical or nutraceutical products.
The project includes a 6-month placement at ICNODERM srl, one of the few industrial companies in Sardinia that carries out research and development activities and produces cosmetic and cosmeceutical formulations and medical devices, and a 6-month placement at the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology and Parasitology, University of Valencia, a university research centre with considerable experience in the preparation and characterization of nanoparticle systems and in the assessment of their effectiveness.
08/11/2021