(CQ) BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Our research is mostly focused on the development of new antimicrobial approaches to address the issue of bacterial infections in agriculture, as well as problem of multi-drug resistance in human and veterinary medicine. Currently we concentrate on the three major research areas:

1. Nanomaterials for treatment and prevention of infectious diseases.

The main objectives of our research are to describe the mechanisms of action of a wide variety of toxic substances, to search for protective compounds and to reveal their mechanisms of action, to develop new effective methods to modulate the activity of drugs with particular emphasis on drugs used in anticancer therapy and antibiotics.

Collection of Plasmids and Microorganisms (KPD) is a newly established resource at the Faculty of Biology dedicated to collecting and long-term preservation of plasmids and microorganisms, aiming to foster advanced collection management of biological material and consolidate microbial resources previously dispersed among several university labs.

LBCM has developed a recognized scientific specialty in marine biofilms study (organized populations of microorganisms growing on surfaces). Using a variety of tools and approaches that combines genetics, analytical chemistry and cell physiology, this laboratory studies the interactions between living organisms and abiotics, and promotes the biotechnological developments that emerge from them.

Cell therapy in Critical limb ischemia
Proteomics in the search of cardiovascular research related biomarkers
Cell therapy in Atherosclerosis

We investigate the roles of extracellular matrix (ECM) components from the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) class, enzymes for biosynthesis of GAGs and cell surface receptors of GAGs in the regulation of inflammatory response in generalized destructive form of periodontal disease in humans

The main objective of our research group is to exploit properties of Prokaryotes that thrive in extreme habitats for potential biotech applications. Enzymes being in our focus such as Enzymes such as DNA replication/transcription enzymes, DNA/RNA ligases, nucleases, SSB proteins, helicases, recombinases constitute primary targets to advance the knowledge on genome plasticity, maintenance and evolution.