About about long

Microalgae biomass represents a rich source for discovery. The potential for microalgae-based ingredients in the industry relies on the manipulation and targeting of ingredients to fit increasingly niche product specifications.
Microalgae are exposed to extreme environments and thus have developed unique mechanisms for protection. Furthermore, microalgae can produce, for the same reason, diverse biomolecules which need to be identified and explored in a sustainable way for the production of food, drugs and cosmetics.

The AlgaeCeuticals project will take advantage of the native Chlamydomonas and other green microalgae strains and through the application of novel omics (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, enzymomics and metabolomics) and photobioreactor technologies will direct the development and production of novel cosmeceuticals and nutraceuticals.
These goals will be accomplished through the screening and characterization of natural algae biodiversity, optimization of culture systems, development of omics resources and downstream processing strategies. The proposed objectives will be achieved by the collaboration of four academic and research centers from Greece (CERTH/INAB; AUA), Italy (FEM) and Spain (Centro Tecnológico Nacional de la Conserva y Alimentación) with three industrial partners from Greece (Fresh Formula SA), Spain (Bionos Biotech ND) and Croatia (Particula Group).
Through this collaboration the academic partners will work closely with the industrial partners to form a complementary and highly competitive team able to promote the transfer of knowledge and excellence.
This will strengthen the partners’ competitiveness in the field of food and cosmetics and facilitate the product development cycle, from the design to the evaluation and formulation of the products proposed by the project, such as cosmetics with natural UV sunscreens, proteins and enzymes from microalgae.