Optimisation of extraction and purification methods (EPM) of high-value fucoidan from Scottish ocean-farmed seaweed for use as an antiviral and antimi

本博士学位的目的是研究从养殖的苏格兰海藻中生产用于抗病毒和抗炎药物的岩藻糖胶的可行性。褐藻糖胶是棕色海藻中的一种成分，在医药和化妆品中有应用。这种化学物质的性质受其结构和生物活性特性的影响。该项目将涉及工程学院、医学院和工业合作伙伴BioMara有限公司的合作。该项目将包括三个部分；第一部分是海藻的收集和提取，这可能涉及访问BioMara来源的农场进行收集。然后，将使用各种方法提取海藻中的岩藻糖胶。下一步，提取的岩藻糖胶将使用不同的方法如层析以及更新的方法进行再次纯化。这些阶段将在工程学院的西蒙·迪马蒂诺博士的监督下进行。最后阶段是对样品进行分析，生产的材料将被测试其是否适合用作抗病毒和消炎药。这一阶段将由医学院的理查德·斯隆博士监督。博士将寻求优化提取和纯化工艺，以生产性能更好的岩藻糖胶用于药物。将考虑多种纯化方法，如膜分离和亲和层析。这些方法加上其他潜在的新方法将被考虑，看看哪种方法产生的岩藻糖胶具有最有用的特征。

The purpose of this PhD is to investigate the feasibility of producing fucoidan from farmed Scottish seaweed for use in antiviral and anti-inflammatory drugs. Fucoidan is a component in brown seaweed and has applications in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. The properties of this chemical are affected by its structure and bioactivity characteristics.This project will involve a collaboration between the school of engineering, the medical school and an industrial partner BioMara Ltd. This project will have 3 parts; The first of these is the collection of seaweed and extraction this will potentially involve the visiting of farms sourced by BioMara for collection. The fucoidan in the seaweed would then be extracted using various methods. Next, the extracted fucoidan would then be purified again using varying methods such as chromatography as well as more novel methods. These stages will be carried out under the supervision of Dr Simone Dimartino in the School of Engineering. The final stage is the analysis of the samples in this the material produced will be tested for its suitability for use as antiviral and anti-inflammatory drugs. This stage would be supervised by Dr Richard Sloan in the Medical School.The PhD will look to optimise the extraction and purification processes to produce fucoidan with enhanced properties for use in drugs. Multiple purification processes will be considered such as membrane separation processes and affinity-based chromatography. These methods plus other potentially novel methods will be considered to see which yields fucoidan with the most useful characteristics.