PU BioNEST gets Rs 2.57-cr grant

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 21

The Bioincubators Nurturing Entrepreneurship for Scaling Technologies (BioNEST), Panjab University (PU), has got a grant of Rs 2.57 crore for projects in food and agriculture processing.

“The government wants us to suggest ways of converting biomass into high-value product. We will fund five start-ups which would work in this field,” said Dr Rohit Sharma, project leader, BioNEST. He added, “This project would mainly focus on Punjab and nearby areas.”

The BioNEST has been able to involve not only the local industry, but also large corporates. Fresenius Kabi Oncology Limited (FKOL) has funded Rs 33 lakh under the corporate social responsibility (CSR) to establish a state-of-the-art microbiology facility. In total, this centre has received a total grant of Rs 14.27 crore since 2014.

Rs50 lakh for curing dermatitis

Also, the Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG) amounting to Rs 50 lakh by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) has been awarded to Dr Vandita Kakkar for her work on paediatric dermatitis.

Under the grant, the proof of concept studies on the nanolipid-based product composed of a natural phytochemical and an immunosuppressant will be carried out in collaboration with the PGIMER and the industry.

“It will be formulated in the form of an ointment, which is proposed to be safe and efficacious, cost-effective, free of side-effects and for use not only in adults, but also paediatric segment,” said Dr Vandita Kakkar. The BIG-BIRAC project will be incubated at BioNEST.

Researcher filed two patents in a year

Shivanshi Vashisht of BioNEST has applied for two patents. “We are making enzymes which are used in pharmaceutical industry for anti-fungal topical and have to be imported,” she said.

Her start-up — MicroRadical360 Pvt Ltd — has also developed a machine which can grow microorganisms at higher temperature. The second patent has been filed for the machine.

The product launch has already taken place. “We have crossed the stages of proof-of-concept and are heading towards the pipeline generation of the products,” she added. She has also been going to Boston to present her achievement at the BIO International Convention — a gathering of biotechnologists of the world.

Work on making biodiesel from algae under way

Komal Sharma is working on making biodiesel from algae. A photobioreactor will also be prepared for scaling up algae production. The aim is to reduce the cost of biofuel. “A successful attempt implies that biodiesel made didn’t freeze at lower temperature as compared to conventional fuels in the market. We are implementing an algae growing system fulfilling the target challenges for efficient harvesting and extraction processes on lab scale and then on large scale,” she said.

Ayurvedic anti-cancer compound

Shallu Goyal is working on an Ayurvedic anti-cancer compound. “Arjun tree and Queen of Flowers are being used to develop the compound,” she said.

Anti-cancer drug

Shruti Nagrath is also working on anti-cancer drug. “We are focusing on identification, isolation and optimisation of active drug formulation from bacteria. The primary target bacteria are those commonly present in the microbiome,” she said.

Nanoparticles for treating dye industry effluents

Navneet Kaur is working on use of nanoparticles for treating dye industry effluents. “The recent developments in water decontamination processes are concerned with the formation of highly reactive oxygen species which completely oxidize the non-biodegradble organic compounds, called advanced oxidation processes (AOP’s). Among all the AOP’s, semiconductor photocatalysis is a promising approach for the degradation of pollutants because of its low cost and effectiveness,” she said.