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BIOTEK2021-Bioteknologi for verdiskaping

ERA-NET: Seaweeds for Novel Applications and Products (SNAP)

Alternative title: BlueBio - Nye anvendelser og produkter fra tang og tare

Awarded: NOK 6.8 mill.

The main objective of the SNAP project is to develop novel applications and products based on complex carbohydrates (polysaccharides) from selected brown and red algae, including wild harvested and cultivated species. The global utilization of seaweeds is increasing rapidly, where today most cultivated biomass is used directly as food or in food additives. Besides food, there is also an increasing demand for new high-value products from more sustainable bioresources. Here, polysaccharides from seaweed demonstrate competitive advantages for multiple market sectors. However, there is still a need for new knowledge and methodology for effectively isolating and characterizing these polysaccharides and understanding how their structures are related to their physical and biological properties. This will provide an important basis and prerequisite for using seaweed polysaccharides for novel medium- and large-scale applications and products. New innovative applications as well as biorefineries for efficient utilization of the biomass will be important drivers to establish industry-scale seaweed aquaculture in Europe. The SNAP project will provide new knowledge on the structure and composition of important brown and red algae species and employ advanced biorefinery processes to isolate high-quality polysaccharides. These polysaccharides will be modified by chemical and enzymatic approaches, functionally characterized, and utilized for novel products targeting multiple industry sectors, including biomedical materials, cosmetics, and functional foods and feed. The project has an academically strong and interdisciplinary consortium with six research partners from five countries (SINTEF (NO), NTNU (NO), KTH (SE), TLU (EE), UNITS (IT) and MARUM (DE)), as well as two industry partners (DuPont (NO) and Seaweed Solutions (NO)) providing respectively wild harvested and cultivated biomass as well as key expertise on production, harvest, and processing of seaweeds. The expected impact of the SNAP is increased valorisation of seaweed as a sustainable and renewable biomass, and widespread implementation of novel high-value biobased materials for novel and/or existing industrial applications. The SNAP project has established an integrated biorefinery of brown algae in lab- and small pilot-scale (<50 kg biomass), allowing sequential retrieval of all biopolymers targeted in the project (fucoidan, laminaran, alginate, cellulose) without compromising yield or quality. This has further been supported by developing pre-processing methods to preserve the quality of the biomasses and increase the efficiency of the biorefinery process. The biopolymers have been characterized and implemented in various functionalization and application tests by the partners. An important aspect of this work has been to ensure a high purity and quality of the polysaccharides to understand structure-function relationships and eliminate cross-reactivity from contaminating compounds in biological assays. With respect to modification, the consortium has established and demonstrated various chemical and enzymatic methods for addition and removal of functional groups, and for producing defined short-chain oligosaccharides. This includes functionalization of alginate to improve their properties in tissue engineering applications, generation of structural variants of fucoidan and carrageenan to study anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties of sulfated polysaccharides, and production of nanofibrillar and -crystalline cellulose for advanced nanomaterials and composites. Several novel products have been generated in the project.

SNAP has provided new protocols for fractionation and increased utilisation of algal biomass, including use of enzymes in processing. This work is essential to be able to deliver pure and characterised polymer fractions from seaweed. SNAP main delivery has been development and delivery of highly characterised materials based on the selected marine biopolymers alone, in combination and in different level of modification and functionalization. The modified polymers and produced materials have been evaluated for biomedical applications including cell cultivation and regenerative medicine, in functional foods, in advanced functional bio/nanomaterials and in cosmetics. Some of the work is ground-breaking. As an example, for the polysaccharides from cultivated seaweed studied in SNAP there are currently no product on the market, partly due to limited knowledge on the structure and the quality of the molecules present (e.g alginate, fucoidan, laminaran, cellulose). SNAP has been contributing to bridging crucial knowledge gaps in seaweed research trough it's focus on delivery of pure and highly characterised macroalgal biopolymers. This starting point is necessary to be able to understand chemical, physical and biological properties. This is the key for design of innovative products for a range of applications in several markets and industrial sectors. The work in SNAP has followed the proposed research plan in the grant application, and data will be published after evaluation of IP. Several papers have been published so far and several additional manuscripts are now being prepared for publications. Furthermore the result from SNAP has been presented on key seaweed conferences and communicated in media. The results and papers from SNAP are covering several industrially relevant technologies, novel products and novel applications. The data is ranging from identification and characterisation of novel fucoidan active enzymes, use of enzymes in processing of biomass and tailoring of biopolymers, development of novel methylated and methacrylated alginates for bioprinting, highly characterized seaweed derived cellulose with unique properties, and novel biomaterials made directly from the algal biomass.

The future bio economy is reliant on increased utilization of marine resources to meet increasing needs for food, feed, materials and products. Seaweed is an underutilized biomass in Europe with a great potential for value creation and industry development. The SNAP project is innovation-focused and aims to develop novel products by upgrading and modifying five different polysaccharides (alginate, cellulose, fucoidan, laminarin and carrageenan) from selected brown and red algae: Laminaria hyperborea, Saccharina latissima, Alaria esculenta and Chondrus crispus. A consortium with extensive infrastructure and competence in seaweed and marine polysaccharide research and innovations has been established. SES is a Norwegian seaweed farming and processing company, and DuPont has broad experience in seaweed utilization and is a major manufacturer of high-quality hydrocolloids from brown and red algae. Tallinn University has expertise in processing, isolation and utilization of valuable compounds from a wide range of seaweeds. The Royal Institute of technology has expertise in plant and seaweed polysaccharide structural elucidation and development of polysaccharide-based products. The Norwegian University of Science and Technology and SINTEF have decades of experience on structural characterization and chemoenzymatic tailoring of marine polysaccharides. University of Trieste has expertise in making advanced biomaterials from marine biopolymers. The University of Bremen has expertise in discovery and use of biopolymer-modifying enzymes. SNAP will improve processing methods by enzymatic approaches allowing for complete utilization of biomasses. Furthermore, important knowledge on the structure/function relationship of the polysaccharides by the use of advanced analytical techniques will be obtained. Next, SNAP will deliver highly defined chemoenzymatic functionalized oligomers and polysaccharides, and novel materials targeting selected markets and high cost applications.

Publications from Cristin

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Funding scheme:

BIOTEK2021-Bioteknologi for verdiskaping

Thematic Areas and Topics

Politikk- og forvaltningsområderNordområdeneKlima, miljø og biologiske ressurserBransjer og næringerHelsenæringenNordområdeneNanoteknologi/avanserte materialerLTP3 Fagmiljøer og talenterNordområdeneKunnskapsbasert næringsutviklingAvanserte produksjonsprosesserAvansert produksjonsteknologi som fag og teknologi (ny fra 2015)Portefølje InnovasjonBioteknologiAvanserte produksjonsprosesserHavbrukAnnen havbruksrelevant forskningGrunnforskningBioteknologiIndustriell bioteknologiPolitikk- og forvaltningsområderFiskeri og kystPolitikk- og forvaltningsområderNæring og handelPortefølje Banebrytende forskningBioøkonomiSektorovergripende bioøkonomiResponsible Research & InnovationRRI Utviklings- og prosessorienteringResponsible Research & InnovationBioteknologiMarin bioteknologiBransjer og næringerFiskeri og havbrukBransjer og næringerProsess- og foredlingsindustriBransjer og næringerNæringsmiddelindustriBioøkonomiCo-Funded/ERA-NETERA-NET Cofund H2020Delportefølje KvalitetBransjer og næringerCo-Funded/ERA-NETLTP3 Klima, miljø og energiNanoteknologi/avanserte materialerAvanserte materialerDelportefølje InternasjonaliseringDelportefølje Et velfungerende forskningssystemLTP3 Rettede internasjonaliseringstiltakAnvendt forskningInternasjonaliseringInternasjonalt samarbeid om utlysningHavbrukLTP3 Samfunnssikkerhet og beredskapHavbrukHavbruks- og foredlingsteknologiKlimarelevant forskningInternasjonaliseringMarinInternasjonaliseringInternasjonalt prosjektsamarbeidLTP3 Høy kvalitet og tilgjengelighetLTP3 Bioøkonomi og forvaltningPortefølje ForskningssystemetLTP3 Et kunnskapsintensivt næringsliv i hele landetLTP3 Muliggjørende og industrielle teknologierLTP3 Marine bioressurser og havforvaltningLTP3 Hav og kystLTP3 Nano-, bioteknologi og teknologikonvergensLTP3 Samfunnsikkerhet, sårbarhet og konfliktMarinHavbrukMatGlobal matsikkerhetLTP3 Styrket konkurransekraft og innovasjonsevneMatMarinMarin bioteknologiPortefølje Muliggjørende teknologierPortefølje Mat og bioressurser