More than 60 participants from 28 countries are gathering at Riga Technical University (RTU) from 5 to 7 March to discuss the achievements of the COST Action Ocean4Biotech, strengthen the platform for knowledge and technology transfer and agree on sustainable international cooperation in the development of marine biotechnology research.
COST is an international cooperation programme that supports collaboration between scientists in different fields of scientific and technological development in Europe. Ocean4Biotech aims at networking marine biotechnology experts.
Despite growing demand for alternative sources of food, medicines and chemicals, marine resources are still not fully explored. Marine organisms have produced a wide range of primary and secondary metabolites with antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, nutritive, photoprotective and other beneficial properties, says Arita Dubņika, lead researcher at the Institute of Biomaterials and Bioengineering, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technologies, RTU. She led one of the five Ocean4Biotech teams. Her own research focuses on the use of marine resources in biomaterials development. In particular, she has been investigating the use of marine polysaccharide matrices - chitosan and fucoidan - in drug delivery systems, developing innovative biomaterials for the regeneration of oral, facial and jaw tissues after surgical manipulation. Fucoidan is extracted from seaweed and chitosan from crustacean shells. The matrices made from them contain active substances and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF), an autologous material derived from the patient's own blood that contains growth factors and promotes healing while preventing the risk of infections.
Close collaboration between scientists, policy makers, industry and society is needed to foster the development and further use of potential products. This is why the COST Action Ocean4Biotech, launched in 2019, has developed a broad, diverse and geographically dispersed network of experts - scientists from different fields (from chemistry, environment and biotechnology to law and IT), industry and societal actors. They have exchanged knowledge through training, workshops, joint projects and research. The collaboration has also created a common database of marine organisms with the highest biotechnology potential, investigated compounds with commercial potential and developed scenarios for product development and commercialisation, developed a biotechnology innovation value chain including legal, intellectual property and ethical aspects, as well as infrastructure and tools. A series of scientific papers have also been published and knowledge transfer has been promoted.
By hosting COST participants, RTU introduces them to opportunities for collaboration, scientific excellence and demonstrates openness to new challenges.
More information about Ocean4Biotech on the website and Youtube channel.
