Laboratory for Innovative Drugs and Materials

Scientific results:

1. The result of the realization of the project is the creation of a world-class laboratory in Siberian Federal University that focuses on innovative agents for the protection of socially significant cultures from weeds and phytopathogens causing diseases, innovative degradable polymers and composites, as well as their applications in the training of students in biotechnology, bioengineering and materials science. Our research was aimed at solving research problems and creating products to design efficient and environmentally friendly means of protection of cultivated species of plants to reduce losses in agriculture, improve productivity and reduce the pressing of xenobiotics on natural ecosystems and the biosphere as a whole.
2. We have obtained new fundamental knowledge that served as the scientific basis and support the development of a technology for design and application of pioneering and targeted pesticidal agents that rely on deposition into a degradable base made of  microbial degradable polymers, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA).
3. Since the created means of plant protection should be cost-effective, we use two approaches, extending substrate scenarios for the biosynthesis of degradable PHA and filling the polymer basis with available natural materials. We have developed new technologies for the biosynthesis of polymers with the use of glycerin, which is large-tonnage waste from the production of biodiesel, and hydrolysates of plant waste, reducing the cost of carbon substrate for the production of PHA by the factor of 2,0–2,5 compared to earlier used sugars.
4. We have designed an unprecedented family of long-acting pesticidal agents, conducted a comprehensive research in laboratory and field settings. The efficiency of this family of pesticide has been proven by tests involving economically and socially significant cultures: grain (wheat, barley), potatoes, vegetables (tomatoes, beetroot). The results were generalized, ensuring reduction of in the monographs «New Generation Formulations of Agrochemicals: Current Trends and Future Priorities»// CRC/Taylor&Francis: Appl. Acad. Press, 2020 and «Next-generation agricultural preparations: design strategies and implementation» Krasnoyarsk, Russia, 2022.

The performed economic research has demonstrated that with equal expenditures on seeding and harvesting, pre-emergent use of deposited preparations simultaneously with planting of seed material into soil reduces costs of technological operations in the vegetation period, ensuring a reduction of costs of agricultural products and improvement of profitability of production. 

Implemented results of research: 

• The series of the developed deposited pesticidal agents has been implemented at  Krasnoyarsk State Agrarian University and the Krasnoyarsk Research Institute of Agriculture of the Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where field testing has been performed with a positive effect.
• The innovative aspect of the results of the project includes the developed  «Technological regulations for the design of deposited pesticidal agents»; two documents developed and registered with standardization and certification bodies of Russia,  «Technical conditions: TU–20.20.19–015–02067876-2020 «Long-acting pesticidal agents for pre-emergent application» and TU–20.20.19–015–02067876–2022 «Long-acting fungicidal preparations for the protection of potato plants from diseases»; compliance certificates have been obtained for the developed  deposited pesticidal agents.
• Results of intellectual activity – the Russian Federation patent No. 2733295 «Long-acting pesticidal agent for ground application»  (application No.  2022116520, priority granted on 17 June 2022).

• The results of the project are used in the education process and for highly-qualified personnel training. New education programs and lecture courses have been created, «Biosafety»; «Mycology with basics of phytopathology»; «Microbiological control in the industry» and a series of study guides, which have been introduced into the curriculum and the education programs for bachelor’s degree students majoring in Biology and master’s degree students majoring in Biology; master’s degree program  «Microbiology and biotechnology».
• The Laboratory has published study guides: «Detecting physical and mechanical characteristics of polymer materials for medical purposes», «Microbiology», «Modern biotechnological preparations for agriculture», «Materials for medicine, cell and tissue engineering», «Microbiological monitoring of biotechnological production», «Technology of treatment of fermentation lines using a CIP washer», «Application of sugar-containing substrates to increase the availability of “green„ bioplastics».
• Over the period of the implementation of the project, 34 undergraduate and postgraduate students have participated in it. Nine bachelor’s degree students and 12 master’s degree students have defended theses on the topic of the project. Two postgraduate students have become winners of the «Bay Study» and received personal scholarships of the  «BayerCropScience» corporation.
• An employee of the Laboratory has defended a Candidate of Sciences dissertation in the specialization Biotechnology, «Technology of the biosynthesis of polyhydroxyalkanoates on glycerin and organization of pilot production». An employees of the Laboratory has submitted her dissertation for defense, «Degradable poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) as the basis for the design of herbicidal preparations for the protection of cultivated plants».
• More than 10 members of our team have completed advanced training programs at Siberian Federal University and at educational, research and professional organizations of Russia (the All-Russian Institute of Plant Protection, Saint Petersburg; Saint Petersburg State Chemical and Pharmaceutical University; the Federal Institute of Industrial Property – FIIS; Sirius University) and India (Sewa Madal Kamla Nehru Mahavidyalaya, Nagpur). In 2021, two postgraduates from our Laboratory completed one-month internships on the grounds of Mahatma Gandhi University (India).
• On the grounds of SFU we organized and staged the 3^rd and 4^th International  conferences «Biotechnology of new biomaterials – environment – quality of life». Employees of the Laboratory participated in a series of international scientific forums on the topic of the project, primarily with invited presentations: the 9^th International conference «Biomaterials and nanobiomaterials: «Recent Advances Safety–Toxicology and Ecology Issues», Heraklion, Greece; the International Congress «Biotechnologies: the current state and the prospects» «BioTechWorld», Russia, Moscow; the International Symposium on Biopolymers (ISBP–2018), Beijing, China PR; the International Scientific Conference «The SGEM Vienna GREEN 2018», Hofburg, Austria; the 6^th International Conference on Natural Polymers, Bio-Polymers, Bio-Materials, Kottayam, India; the International Forum «STEM–2020: Science – Technology – Engineering – Math», Russia, Moscow; the 16^th International Conference of Students, Postgraduates and Young Researchers «Free Avenue – 2020»; the International Research and Practice Conference «Biotechnology: science and practice», Yalta (Crimea); the 58^th  International Scientific Student Conference (MSSC–2020), Novosibirsk; the International Conference  «Germany and Russia: ecosystems without borders», Kaliningrad, and others. 

Collaborations:

Pursuing a collaboration agreement with Mahatma Gandhi University (India), we are conducting joint research of the trends of the biodegradation of microbial polyhydroxyalkanoates in soils of India (Kerala state); with TU Berlin (Germany) we are studying new substrate-based scenarios for synthesizing degradable bioplastics. An Agreement on Scientific Cooperation has been signed between the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan and SFU; we are continuing our partnership with the Department of Biomaterials (Prof. Mikhail I. Shtilman) of D. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia and the All-Russian Institute of Plant Protection.